


I'm Free, But Now What?

by HillianLink



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-05
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-02-03 11:45:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 66,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1743560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HillianLink/pseuds/HillianLink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Riku has had to deal with a living hell for almost all of his life, until one day he finds a way to get free. But now he has to try to live a normal life with his new family and simultaneously keep his dark past a secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Getting The Fuck Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was actually my very first story, although it is being posted to this site after my second story, but that doesn't fucking matter. Anyway, on with the show.

 

* * *

**Getting the Fuck Out.**

Bliss. That's the only word that could describe what I was currently experiencing. I was sitting in a large meadow, surrounded by flowers. Just sitting there, watching the clouds float by, completely content with everything. It's as if the whole world is just at peace with its inhabitants and they were all just following suit. I was knocked out of my slight daze as a small Pichu ran up to me and plopped itself down on my lap.

"Hey little guy", I said, scratching behind its ears, "shouldn't you be with your mother, she's probably worried about you." The small electric mouse opened its mouth to reply, but when it did an uncharacteristically deep, gruff voice came out.

"Riku, wake the fuck up and bring me my damn dinner!"

My eyes shot open and I saw the familiar cabinets and plain white walls of my master's kitchen.  _Fucking figures, just another damn daydream_.

"Homora, where the fuck is my damn food!?"

I sighed and yelled, "Coming master!".

I dashed over to the oven and pulled it open and grabbed the whole chicken that is my masters dinner from it and ran to the dining room with it, careful not to drop it in fear of being punished. I sat the tray down in front of my master, an extremely fat, horrible excuse for a man, and bowed to him.

"Little shit." he growled out,"You've been here long enough to know that I shouldn't have to tell you to bring it out."

He then punched me as hard as he could in the jaw and I had to fight back a yelp of pain. I just gritted my teeth and said, "Yes master, my apologies, it won't happen again.

"It damn well better not." he growled at me,"You may now eat."

I bowed to him again and said,"Yes, thank you master.", before dashing back to the kitchen. On the way I passed Hades, my masters pet Houndoom, and he quietly growled at me before going back to sleep. I quickly slipped into the kitchen and walked over to the small jar on the counter labeled "Slave" and took two pieces of bread from it before replacing the lid. I then began slowly eating the bread, trying to make it last since its all I'll get for at least twelve hours.

My name is Riku Homora and I'm an extremely odd Lucario morph. Instead of the normal blue and yellow fur pattern my whole body is covered in black fur and my eyes were a deep blood red. I'm currently 16 with a height of 5 feet, which is extremely short for someone my age and especially a Lucario, which normally are at least 5, 8 by my age. The stunted growth comes from a severe lack of proper nutrition for ten years. When I was six the asshole I currently call master broke into my family's house and killed my parents and kidnapped me, forcing me to be his slave. So every day for ten years he's beaten and starved me and forced me to do anything he told me. Granted it isn't that much different than what I had going for me at home. My parents had always beaten me just because I looked different than I should, but at least there I got three meals a day and an actual bed to sleep in. Here all I have is four slices of bread and a can of beans a day and a hard mattress in an attic. I don't even get to choose my own clothes, all he allows me to wear is an ugly as hell bright yellow track suit. He always says it's a nice contrast from "my horribly ugly black coat of fur".

"Riku, I'm finished with my meal!" my master shouted to me from the dining room.

I quickly shoved the rest of my dinner in my mouth and went to the dining room to get his plate. As I picked up his plate he said, "Oh, and I need you to return here as soon as you've washed that."

I nodded and said, "Yes master." and took his plate to the kitchen. I quickly washed it and went back to him and saw that he had turned his chair to where it was no longer partially under the table, but facing me and out in the middle of the space left to walk between the table and the wall.

"Good, now get over here and get on your knees." he demanded.

I simply did as told, knowing exactly what I was about to do, seeing as he had made me do it almost every day since I turned eight. I got down on my knees and opened my mouth as he dropped his pants to his ankles, revealing his semi hard member.

I was about to wrap my lips around it, but he grabbed my head and said, "No, no, no. Tonight we are going to do something slightly different." I backed up, slightly confused as he whistled and said, "Hades, c'mere boy."

My eyes widened in surprise but I kept silent, knowing all too well what would happen if I questioned what he was doing. As Hades came over I noticed that he was sporting a bright red erection and I immediately knew what was about to happen. My master pet him on the head and said, "Good boy Hades."He then turned to me and said," Now listen up. What's gonna happen is your gonna suck him until he's done and I'm gonna watch it for my own pleasure. Got it?"

I nodded in response as Hades walked over and stood in front of me, my head under him with his erection almost touching my nose.

"You here that, freakboy," he growled in my ear," I get to have a little fun tonight too. Now start suckin."

I wrapped my lips around his canine dick and I almost threw up from the extremely salty and horrible taste.  _This tastes saltier than a human. Must just be a trait of pokemon._ I mentally facepalmed at that thought and tried to wipe it from my memory. I started bobbing my head back and forth as my master began stroking himself. After a few minutes I felt his release begin to build up, so I sped up, wanting to end this hell as fast as possible. Hades suddenly let out a loud howl as he thrust deep into my throat, causing me to gag slightly, as both he and my master climaxed simultaneously, Hades's sperm being shot into my mouth and my master's being shot onto the hardwood floor of the room. I swallowed all of the seed in my mouth, feeling a disgusting heat as each sticky string slide down my throat.

He removed his member and I went to get up, but I stopped when my master said, "Now where the hell do you think you're going, kid." I looked at him and he said," Look at all this mess in here now. You need to clean it, but unfortunately you can't leave this room until it's done and there aren't any cleaning supplies in here."

He smirked as I got back down on my knees and began licking up the white liquids on the floor. When I stood up, finally done, he and Hades burst out laughing. I just stood there, silent until he finished.

When he was done he said," Alright, get your disgusting freak ass upstairs and clean up, you slut."

I nodded and went upstairs to the second floor and up a small rope ladder at the end of the hall into my attic bedroom. I grabbed another track suit off of the floor and went down to the second level and into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I sat the spare clothes on the toilet and put the plug in the sink and turned the water on. As the basin began filling I sunk to the floor and started silently crying into my hands. I sat there until the sink was about ¾ of the way full, and I got up and turned the water. I grabbed a washcloth and a bar of soap from the shower and began washing myself, with only one thing running through my head:  _This is hell. My life is hell_. When I was done I pulled the plug, causing the sink to start draining, and I began drying myself off. I wrapped the towel around my waist and looked in the mirror and was horrified by my reflection. I had multiple scars from being stabbed while here, a few slightly noticeable cigar burns, and some slight visible bruising around my left eye. But what horrified me the most was that I could clearly see every single one of my ribs. I began praying to Arceus for some way to escape, and after a few minutes it finally came to me.

 _I know what I have to do. I don't like it but I have to do it, and it has to be tonight._  I slowly finished drying off and put my clothes on, then I went up to my room and got under my thin blanket on my mattress and just waited. I periodically glanced out the small circular window at the other end of the attic to see what time it was. When it looked to be about one or two in the morning I got up, ready to put my plan in action. I went downstairs and silently began walking to the master bedroom. I opened the door and saw my master lying in bed asleep.  _Hmph. Yeah,"master"._   _We're about to see who really has the power here_. I stepped into the room and slowly closed the door behind me. Apparently it was louder than I thought because his eyes shot open and fell on me.

"What the hell! Riku, what the fuck are you doing out of bed at this hour? Or more importantly, why the hell are you in my room?"

Instead of answering, I just coated my right hand in an Iron Claw and began walking towards him. He caught a glimpse of my hand as I walked past the window, causing the moonlight to glint off of the sharp metal, and I heard him audibly gulp.

"Riku, I don't know what the hell you think you're going to do with that but you need to leave now." He said, a slight trace of fear in his voice.

I ignored him and continued walking forward, now with a wicked grin on my face.

"Riku, listen to me now, damn it. Put that away and go back to bed." He said, the fear now prominent in his voice.

I just continued walking towards him, the same wicked grin growing even larger. When I reached his bedside I used my left hand to force his head to his pillow and placed the tip of my claw at his throat.

He whimpered in fear and pleaded," No, please, don't do it Riku. I'm sorry for what I've done, I truly am. Just let me go and you can leave here and be free, okay?"

I just glared at him with cold, emotionless eyes and put just enough pressure on his throat to draw blood.

He let out another whimper and said, "No, please. I'll do anything, I'll give you anything. Do you want money? I'll give you money just please let me go." I put a little more pressure on his throat and he said, "No, please, please. I'll do anything, I'll give you anything."

I leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "All I want is your head on a fucking plate."

I then thrust the claw into his throat and stood there as the crimson blood poured out of the wounds and onto my hand. After about thirty seconds I slowly pulled my claw out and left the room and began walking down the hall in the dark, blood dripping off of my claw and hand.

I whistled and said,"Cmere Hades, Riku's got a little present for you, you cute little pooch."

In the dark I saw the shape of Hades come up the stairs and move closer to me, and then stop a few steps away.

"Huh? What the hell are you doing up Riku?" he asked. His eyes then fell on my right hand and the trail I left behind me and he stuck his nose in the air, obviously smelling blood.

"What the hell did you do?" He asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

I just laughed and said, "Why don't you come the fuck over here and find out, bitch."

He then stepped back a little and took a running charge at me and leaped in the air to tackle me. I easily sidestepped him and knocked him to the floor on his back and I dropped onto him and laid there with my left arm on his neck and my Iron Claw pointing at the center of his throat. He tried to wriggle free but I kept him pinned, and after a few seconds he stopped squirming and just laid there.

"How the hell can you do this, you're just a scrawny little butler? We made sure to beat all the fight out of you years ago."

I chuckled and said, "Well, you see, I'm simply one hell of a butler."

I then plunged the claw into his throat and stayed there until he stopped twitching. I didn't care about my humanity anymore so I continued with a plan unknown even to me, acting as if I wasn't even the one controlling my own body. I cut Hades head off and put it on the pillow next to my former master's head and took the hellhounds body downstairs and sat it in the entrance hall. I then went and got four steak knives from the kitchen and returned to the body and hung it up, splayed out, right above the front door. I then got a pack of matches from the living room and a few canisters of gasoline from the garage and completely covered the floor of every room except for the master bedroom, the attic, and the entrance hall in gasoline. I then connected them all in the center of the entrance hall and poured a line of gas out the door and down the front steps. I discarded the canisters and lit a match and threw it on the gasoline. I just stood there, laughing, as the whole house went up in flames, along with almost everything in it. After about ten minutes I heard approaching sirens, so I went into the surrounding forest and began walking in a random direction. I had been walking for about ten minutes when the impact of what I did finally registered.

_Dear Arceus, I've killed a man._

"No, no, I didn't kill a man," I said aloud," I killed a monster that deserved to die."This second thought calmed and consoled me until another one hit me: I was lost in a forest I had never been in before and had no idea where the nearest town was.

"Oh well." I said, "Better keep walking I guess, just sitting here won't help accomplish anything." I then continued walking in the random direction, hoping to find any sort of dwelling, human, pokemorph or even pokemon.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was fun. Right? Fuck it, let's go.


	2. One Hell Of A Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank all who viewed, reviewed, favorited, or followed, so thanks for the support. I'm not sure if I made this clear in the first chapter but in this story humans and Pokemorphs live together as equals, while Pokemon are still kept as pets. And now onto the chapter

* * *

** One Hell of a Day. **

_That right there, that's what I'm after._  I was currently hiding in a bush on the edge of a park in the middle of a city, watching an Eevee morph and a Flareon morph, who I assumed to be his daughter, putting groceries in the trunk of their car in a store's parking lot.  _If I can get at those oranges and take one they'll never notice. All I have to do is wait for them to go and put their cart up._

My stomach suddenly growled, reminding me to hurry up. It's been four months since my "departure" from the house, and I have been living on the streets, bouncing from town to town, stealing food and, whenever possible, doing odd jobs for food, money, and a place to stay for the night. Over the time I've been able to get other clothes to replace the horrid tracksuit I left in. I'm currently wearing a pair of dark gray sweatpants, a black jacket over a dark purple t-shirt and a pair of black skate shoes.

I sat there watching the two for another two or three minutes of them loading the bags in the trunk before Flareon went to the passenger side door and got in, while the Eevee went to put the cart in a rack, leaving the trunk open as he left.  _Okay, now's my chance._ I quickly but quietly moved to the back of the car and reached into the bag containing the oranges and grabbed one. I quickly took my hand out, but as soon as my hand cleared the bag I felt a hand land on my shoulder, causing me to freeze in place.

"May I help you, young man?" A voice said behind me. I quickly spun around, hiding the orange in my hands behind my back, and came face to face with the Eevee. "Well, would you like to answer?" He asked, dropping his hand to his side. I just stood there, silent. "Very well then," he said, "then would you like to show me what is behind your back?" I turned my face to the ground and slowly moved my hand from behind my back, revealing the fruit. He took the orange from my hand and said, "Would you like to explain to me why you took one of my oranges?" I just shrugged as I heard the car door open then close, followed by the Flareon appearing around the car.

"Hey Dad, what's taking so long?" She asked the Eevee. She then noticed me standing there and said, "Oh. Hello. Who are you?"

"Riku." I said, finally speaking up.

The Eevee looked at me with a slightly surprised look on his face and said, "Well Riku, would you like to say anything to me for attempting to steal from me?"

I simply nodded and said, "I'm sorry, sir. If you let me go I promise that it won't happen again."

He nodded and said, "Alright, apology accepted. Now, it's obvious that you are rather hungry and my daughter and I were on our way to eat dinner anyway, so would you like to join us?"

I stood there, stunned, which prompted the Flareon to say, "Let's take that as a yes."

"Okay then, let's go." The Eevee said. He put the orange back in the bag and shut the trunk. Then, before I could react, he put his arm around my shoulder and brought me to the back left side door. He then opened the door and I got in without question, not wanting to insult him by showing that I didn't completely trust him. He shut the door as his daughter got in, followed by him getting in the driver's seat. He then started the car and pulled out of the lot and began driving down the road.

After a few minutes the Eevee said, "Anyways, I believe we should introduce ourselves. I am Maxwell Mathers and this is my daughter, Jessica."

The car was silent for a few more minutes until we reached a small diner and pulled into the parking lot. When he parked we all got out and went to the door, with me following them a few feet behind. The diner was almost empty, the only other patron being an old woman sitting at the counter, drinking coffee and eating a slice of pie. The three of us all went to a booth near the door and sat down, Maxwell and Jessica on one side and myself on the other side.

After only a few seconds a Kirlia morph wearing a stereotypical diner waitress outfit and an apron came over to us and said, "Hey Maxwell honey, so what'll it be?"

"Just three of the usuals please, Gladys." Maxwell said. The waitress nodded and left, giving Maxwell a small wink as she went.

"So, Riku, how long have you been on the streets?" Maxwell asked.

"For about ten years." I said, deciding to only answer partially truthfully. He simply nodded at my answer.

"Wow, how have you been able to survive this long?" Maxwell asked

I just shrugged in response, not sure how to answer.

"So, um, you have a very interesting fur color for a Lucario, do you know how you got that?" Jessica asked me.

I just shrugged instead of voicing an answer. The waitress then came back holding a tray with three glasses of soda on it and set them on the table in front of us.

"Thank you." Maxwell said, sliding a drink in front of each of us.

"No problem hun," the Kirlia said," I'll have your food out in a few minutes." She left and went back into the kitchen.

"So how old are you kid?" Jessica asked.

"Sixteen." I said, already anticipating the comments about my height.

"Really?" Maxwell said, "You're slightly short for a Lucario of your age aren't you?"

Once again I only shrugged. Jessica opened her mouth to say something, but stopped as the waitress came back holding a tray in each hand.

She sat them on the table, one holding a plate with a hamburger and fries on it and the other holding two of the same plates. "Here you go sweetie, fresh from the kitchen." The waitress said.

"Thanks." Maxwell said, "I'll pay on the way out."

She left again and we started eating in silence. When we were all finished eating Jessica looked at her father and asked, "So, are you going to ask him?"

I looked at them, confused, as Maxwell nodded and said, "Yes, I was just about to ask." He clasped his hands together and put them on the table in front of him and cleared his throat. "Riku, I have a question to ask you."

I nodded to tell him I was listening, so he continued.

"I have another child, a son, and both he and Jessica come from similar pasts as you, meaning that they lived on the streets, but I have adopted them. If you will agree to it, I would like to adopt you as my son. I will send you to school, give you a home to live in, provide for you, and treat you as if you were my own, but only if you want me to. Would you like that?"

I thought for a second. I was in absolute shock, I had never expected anyone to even buy me lunch, let alone spring something like this on me.

"Well, what'll it be?" Maxwell asked patiently.

"That sounds like it would be nice." I said.

A smile spread across his face and he said, "Well then it's settled. Let's head on home."

We all got up and Jessica and I went to the car and got in while Maxwell paid for the food. When he got in the car we pulled out of the parking lot and started down the road. After a few minutes of driving through the city we pulled out onto a road that leads away from the city. As we drove the scenery slowly went from a city to multiple houses to forests surrounding us on both sides. We pulled onto a paved driveway with branches thickly rising over the driveway in a thick enough layer to cut off sunlight. It opened up into a circular driveway with a large two story house at it. Maxwell parked the car in front of the door and we got out. Maxwell popped the trunk and we all went back to it.

"Would you like me to help?" I asked as they started getting bags from the trunk.

"That'd be great, thanks." Max said, handing me a few bags. He closed the trunk and we all went in the house. The entrance hall was a large room with a set of double doors to the right and left with a large staircase in the center leading up to the second floor.

"Jessica, how about you let me deal with the bags while you show Riku around the house?" Max said.

"Okay," Jessica said, sitting her bags down, "C'mon, let's go."

I sat my bags down and followed her to the doors to the left. She opened it and I saw a large room with a flat screen TV hanging on the wall and two large couches in it.

"This is our family room." Jessica said, "We don't use it much, pretty much only when we have Max's family over."

There was a single glass door leading outside and we went over to it. Jessica opened it and I saw a large pool surrounded by a large tile deck with multiple beach chairs on it.

"This is our pool." Jessica said, "We normally spend a majority of our time in the summer out here, especially Ashley."

"Ashley?" I asked, looking at her, confused.

"Our Ninetails," She explained, "She really loves the water."

I nodded and we went back into the house, closing the door behind us. We went back into the entrance hall and saw that Maxwell had already left the room.

"That is the dining room, and through it is the kitchen. It's pretty much just like any dining room and kitchen, so there's no point in going in there right now" Jessica said, pointing at the doors to the right. We then went up the stairs to the second floor. At the top was a long hallway with two doors on my right and two on my left.

"To the right at the end of the hall is Maxwell's bedroom/ office. Next to it is Kyle's room. He's currently on a vacation with his girlfriend, her brother, and his boyfriend. Then to the left is my room and what I assume will be your room is the one at the end of the hall. C'mon I'll show it to you."

We went down to the door at the left end of the hall and Jessica reached for the door knob. When she opened the door I thought my jaw would literally hit the floor. It was a large room with a king sized bed in the center up against the wall with a chest of drawers across from it with a large flat screen TV, a Xbox 360 and a stack of games sitting on it. In the corner to the left of the door there was a desk with a computer sitting on it and a rolling office chair. On either side of the TV was a single door.

"Hehe, I see you're impressed." Jessica said, breaking me out of my trance.

"Yeah, I've never really seen a room like this." I said, chuckling.

"Well you should probably get used to it."Jessica said, "Seeing as it will be your room from now on."

I nodded as we went over to the door closest to the hall and opened the door, revealing an empty walk in closet.

"Obviously this is your closet." Jessica said, "We can go and buy you some clothes soon."

She closed the door and we went to the other one and she opened it. Inside was a was a full bathroom with a tile floor and tile walls.

"And this is your bathroom. All of our rooms have one and there's one in the kitchen" Jessica said.

As she closed the door I stifled a yawn, just now realizing just how tired I am. I looked out the window and saw that the sun had already went down.

"Yeah, it's getting pretty late." Jessica said, stifling a yawn herself, "We should probably get to sleep."

I nodded and she went to the door.

"G'night." She said stopping in the doorway.

"Yeah, goodnight." I said, walking over to the bed.

Jessica closed the door as she left and I got in the bed.  _This has been one hell of a day._

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That is the second chapter. If there are any grammatical errors, then I apologize and I shall try to do better next time. Anyway, have a nice day.


	3. First Day Here And I Already Have A Nickname

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and welcome back to IFBNW chapter 3. Although before we start I feel that I should mention three quick errors in the last chapter.
> 
> 1\. Riku was not supposed to tell them his birthday, just his age.  
> 2\. They don't live miles away from the city, just on the outside of town, so everything is still in walking distance.  
> 3\. The part about the family room not being used much was supposed to be omitted. The room still exists, but that part wasn't supposed to be there.
> 
> I apologize about these errors. I meant to take them out before uploading, but I guess I didn't proofread well enough. I promise to try better in the future. Anyways, on to the chapter

 

* * *

**First Day Here and I Already Have a Nickname**

I awoke in the dark in an unfamiliar place, in a warm and comfortable bed. Confused, I sat up and looked at my surroundings. Upon seeing the white painted walls and black carpet the events of yesterday came rushing back to me, bringing a slight smile to my face. Unsure of what to do I decided to shower, seeing as it's been two days since I last bathed, and even then it was just in a small creek. I went to move my legs but found that there was a light weight on them. Looking down I saw a cream colored ball of fur that I recognized to be a sleeping Ninetails. I tapped the fire fox's shoulder it stirred slightly.

I cleared my throat and said "Um, excuse me."

This caused the Ninetails to groggily lift its head and look around sleepily. Its eyes fell on me and it scramble to its feet.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." She said frantically, "When I came in last night I was extremely tired and I thought I went into Jessica's room-"She froze mid-sentence. "Wait a minute. Who are you?"

"Um, I'm Riku." I said, slightly nervously, "And I assume that you are Ashley, correct?"

"Yes." She said the confusion obvious in her voice and on her face, "How do you know my name and what the hell are you doing here?"

"Well, in response to your first question, Jessica mentioned it yesterday, and to your second one, I guess I live here now." I said.

Her reaction was immediate. Her eyes widened in shock and she said, "What exactly do you mean you live here?"

"Well," I began, "yesterday while Jessica and Maxwell were out grocery shopping they found me living on the streets, so they invited me to eat dinner with them and at the end of it he asked if I wanted to come live here, so I accepted."

Ashley sighed and said, "Seeing as that is exactly how we got Jessica and Kyle, I'm not surprised."

"Could you please get off of my legs?" I asked, remembering why I was getting up in the first place, "I was going to go shower."

"Oh, sure." She said, moving off of my legs and onto the bed itself.

"Thank you." I said, standing up.

As I began walking towards the bathroom Ashley said, "Hey, can I stay in here while you shower or do you want me to leave?"

"Sure, so long as you don't enter the bathroom." I replied.

"Thanks." She said, and quickly followed it up with a loud yawn.

I entered the bathroom and shut and locked the door behind me. As I turned on the shower to let it warm up before I got in I realized that I had no other clothes to change.  _Fuck it; I'll just wear these again._ I took off my clothes and sat them on the sink. When I was done I looked in the mirror. My torso was still covered in the scars and burns but very few still looked even relatively fresh, and I could barely see any of my ribs.  _Figures, I ate better on the streets than I ever did at the house._ I stepped into the shower and gasped as I felt the sensation of running water on my fur. When I was finished showering I turned off the water and stepped out onto the small rug. I opened the cabinet under the sink and found it to be full of towels. I took one out and dried myself off, then threw the towel into the basket in the corner of the bathroom. I got dressed, deciding to keep my shirt off for now so that I could wear dirty clothes for as little time as possible. I stepped out into my bedroom, the steam from the shower billowing out after. I saw Ashley, curled up asleep at the end of the bed. I stepped to the window and pulled back the curtains to see that the sun had barely cleared the horizon. I sat down next to Ashley on the bed and she shifted slightly in her sleep. I began scratching her head while holding my shirt in my other hand and she buried her nose back into her fur.  _These few months have been possibly the most eventful days of my fucking life so far._ I don't know how long I sat there, just scratching Ashley's head and thinking over the recent events, but I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the door begin to open. I quickly put my shirt on as Jessica stepped into the room, wearing only a robe knotted at her stomach.

"Oh hey, you're already up, that makes my job a whole lot easier." She said, "Have you showered yet?"

"Yeah," I replied, "I just got out."

Ashley stirred next to me and lifted her head, blinking tiredly.

"Oh, hey Jess." She said, stifling a yawn"

"Hey Ash, I didn't know you were back." Jessica said, yawning, "Anyways, why don't we head downstairs and grab some breakfast, Riku?"

I nodded and stood up. We left the room and walked down the hall to the stairs. Maxwell was standing at the foot of the stairs, a suitcase on the ground on either side of him.

"Hey Dad, are you going somewhere?" Jessica asked him when we got to the bottom of the stairs.

He looked up and said, "Oh, morning guys. Yeah, I got called this morning about some issues at a site, so I'm going to be away for a few days."

"Anything serious?" Jessica asked.

"No, not that I know of, just some staff changes and payment approvals." He said, "But on a different note, shouldn't you be getting ready to go and meet Levi today?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Jessica said, her ears perking up.

"Who's Levi?" I asked.

"My boyfriend." Jessica said, "I'm meeting him at the mall today."

"So Riku, do you have anything planned for today?" Maxwell asked me.

I froze, not sure of what to say, but Jessica spoke up and said, "You should come to the mall with me. It'd give you a chance to get a feel for the city and you'd be able to get some clothes."

"Um sure." I said, a little reluctantly.

"Well then you will probably need some clean clothing to wear." Maxwell said, "Although I imagine that you could just wear some of Kyle's clothes today."

"I'll go get him some." Jessica said, before turning back and going up the stairs and to the right.

"Well then I imagine you would need some money. I'll go get you some." Maxwell said.

He went up the stairs and to the right as well, leaving me just standing there awkwardly. After about thirty seconds Ashley came down the stairs, stifling a yawn.

"Hey, where's everyone else?" She asked. Seeing the suitcases she added, "And what's with the bags?"

I was about to answer when Maxwell came down the stairs holding a small black case.

"Hello Ashley, I wasn't aware that you got here last night." Maxwell said, walking over to us.

"Yeah," She said, "I sorta slipped in late last night and stumbled into Riku's room, which that proved for an interesting wake up."

"I imagine." He said, chuckling. Turning to me, he said, "Now Riku, can I trust you with the money I'm about to give you?"

"Yes, of course." I replied, assuming that to be the best answer.

"Very well." He said before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a wad of money, which he handed to me, "You can keep whatever you don't use on clothes."

I looked down at the money in my hand and was stunned. I had never been trusted with money before in my life. The only times I had even held any money was while I was living on the streets, but I had always almost immediately used it for food or the small amount of clothes I had.

"Th-thanks." I said, still completely surprised before pocketing the cash.

Maxwell smiled slightly at my reaction and said, "There is one more thing. This is for you as well."

He opened the black case and pulled out what I recognized from to be and IPhone 5. He handed it to me and, once again, I looked down at what was in my hands, stunned.

"Now, I assume that I can trust you with this as well, so have it as a gift." He said, "Now, do you know how to use it?"

I stood there in stunned silence for a few seconds before snapping back to reality.

"Oh. Um, yes I do." I said, "Thank you."

Another slight smile spread across his face and I heard Ashley give off a quiet snicker at my reaction, but I didn't care. With what happened yesterday and what's happened so far today, it felt like my own personal Christmas. I took the phone off standby and saw that it already had both Maxwell's and Jessica's phone number. I pocketed the phone when Jessica came down the stairs holding a bundle of clothes.

"Here," She said, handing me the clothes, "I noticed that you were wearing a lot of dark colors yesterday, so I tried to find some of his darker clothes. I hope that's okay."

"Yeah, thanks." I said, accepting the clothes.

Maxwell looked at the watch on his wrist and said, "Well, I should probably be going now before I miss my flight." He picked up his suitcases and said, "Goodbye everyone, I'll see you in five days. Be sure not to break anything while I'm gone."

"C'mon Dad," Jessica said, slightly defensively, "the only time that ever happened Kyle did it, and he isn't even here right now."

Maxwell sighed and said, "I know, but he'll still be here for two days before I'm back. Anyways, I really should be going now."

He went to the front door and opened it, revealing that it had started raining while we were talking.

"Ugh, really you want to start now?" Jessica groaned, "I hope I still have my umbrella somewhere in my room."

"If not you could always wear a jacket with a hood." Maxwell said, before leaving and closing the door behind him.

After a few seconds we heard the car start up and pull out of the driveway.

"Well," Jessica said, turning to me, "we should go get ready now. If you finish before me, just wait for me here, we can grab something to eat on the way."

I nodded and we both went upstairs, her to her room and me to mine. I closed the door behind me and sat the clothes on the bed to see what she picked out for me. I sat the clothes on the bed and saw that there was a pair of black jeans and a black shirt. I put on the clothes and left my room, throwing my jacket on as I went out of the door. Seeing that Jessica was still getting ready, I went to the foot of the stairs to wait. After a few minutes the door to the kitchen opened and Ashley came out, muttering to herself.

"I really fucking hate it when they don't leave the door open; it's too damn difficult to open it." Seeing me, she came over and said, "Is she really still getting ready?"

I sighed and said, "Yeah, I guess. Does it normally take her this long?"

"Not normally," Ashley replied, "but I guess she really wants to look nice for Levi. He's been at some football camp all summer, so they haven't been able to see each other at all."

I just shrugged and said, "Well, I guess that's sorta understandable."

Just then I heard a door open and Jessica came down the stairs.

"So, how do I look?" She asked, "and be honest."

I looked her over and had to fight just to keep my jaw from dropping. She was wearing a red shirt and black skinny jeans that hugged her hourglass figure perfectly, and her head was topped with a black beanie with her ears sticking out from under it. To put it in simpler terms, she looked absolutely beautiful. Ashley seemed to notice my reaction and she giggled quietly.

'Oh!" I said, breaking out of my slight trance, "Nice. You look nice."

Ashley giggled again and I glared at her, causing her to freeze.

"Thanks." Jessica said, seemingly oblivious to my reaction "Unfortunately I couldn't find my umbrella, so it looks like we'll have to settle for hoods."

"I'm alright with that." I said as we went towards the door.

"Okay then. See-yah Ashley." She said as we left.

"Bye guys, have fun." Ashley's voice responded as the door closed behind us.

While we were getting ready the rain seemed to have started coming down harder and was now almost pouring down.

"Damn." Jessica muttered under her breath, "Looks like it's a good thing jackets have hoods."

We put our hoods up and walked down the driveway and onto the road, with me walking slowly, a few feet behind Jessica. Every few minutes Jessica would look back at me, causing me to feel extremely awkward.

"Hey Riku, y'know you don't have to walk so far behind me, right?" She said after looking at me multiple times, "You can come up here and walk next to me."

I put my hands in my jacket pockets and sped up so that I was walking at the same pace as her.

"So, how did you enjoy sleeping in a real bed after ten years?" Jessica asked me as we trudged on trudged on through the rain.

"It was nice." I replied, "Much more comfortable than the ground."

She laughed and said, "Yeah, I imagine. So, I noticed earlier that you seemed slightly reluctant to come with me. Any specific reason as to why?"

I thought for a second on how to phrase my response then said, "Well, in the past I've never exactly been accepted with open arms due to my abnormal fur color, so I didn't really know if I should go out somewhere."

Ahh," She said, "That. I hate to say it but pretty much everyone our age is like that as well, although the adults are fairly alright with abnormalities. So, now that I've asked you some questions, I'm sure you have some for me about the town and such, so ask away."

I thought about it and realized that she was right; I did have questions, so I asked the first one that came to my mind.

"Has Maxwell ever done anything like this before," I asked, "or were you and Kyle the first kids he ever adopted?"

"Well," Jessica said, "he's only ever had one kid, but he was his actual blood. He occasionally visits, but when he does he normally stays for a few days and sleeps in the guest room."

"The house has a guest room?" I asked, amazed that the house was even bigger than I thought.

"Yeah, didn't I tell you yesterday?" Jessica said, "It's through the kitchen. Eric's pretty much the only one that's ever used it."

"Ok then. So how long have you and Kyle been living there?" I asked.

"Well, Kyle and I are legitimate siblings, and we moved in about five years ago." She said, "Ashley lived there before I did, but when I actually moved in she was only a Vulpix, and she evolved about two years ago"

"Okay," I said, "I have one more question."

"Okay, shoot." Jessica said.

"Why was Maxwell so prepared?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Jessica said.

"Y'know, he seemed extremely prepared for someone else to move in." I explained, "Like, he already had a room and everything stocked up and made and he even already had a phone for me. Why?"

"Well, he's normally pretty prepared for things anyway," She said, "and he's actually been looking to adopt another kid for about two years now. He thought about going to an actual orphanage or something at some point, but he decided that he'd prefer to adopt someone who legitimately doesn't have a home, seeing as they need it more."

"Oh." I said.

We kept walking, with me just following Jessica blindly, not knowing the way around. We only saw one other person actually walking on the sidewalk and not driving on the road, and he just kept walking past us, head down under his hood.  _Wow, people here really must not like the rain._  By the time we actually got to the mall we were both thoroughly soaked to the skin and the rain was pounding down harder than before. We quickly entered, dropped our hoods, and shook slightly to get as much water as possible off of us.

"C"mon, he said he'll be waiting at the food court."Jessica said.

I nodded and we began walking. When we got to the food court Jessica looked around for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.

"Damn, looks like he isn't here yet." Jessica said, "Do you want to grab something to eat?"

"I'm fine," I said, "You go ahead."

"You sure?" She asked.

I nodded and she shrugged then walked away. She came back a few minutes later holding a sausage biscuit and two coffee cups.

She handed a one of the cups to me and said, "Here, I assume you woke up really early today so I figured I'd get you something to help wake up."

"Thanks." I said, accepting the coffee.

"No problem." She said. "Have you ever had coffee, by the way?"

"Yeah, I was actually able to get enough spare money when I was on the streets to get some every now and then." I replied, sipping the drink and tasting the familiar taste of a cinnamon latte.

"Well I guess we should just wait here." Jessica said, taking a bite from her biscuit.

We moved over out of the way a bit and stood there, waiting, with Jessica checking the time on her phone every minute or so.

"Damn it," Jessica sighed after checking the time for at least the thirtieth time, "where the hell is he?"

"Where is who?"A voice said behind us

We spun around to see a guy with short, spiky blonde hair wearing a red Nike t-shirt and blue jeans and a black Absol-morph wearing black jeans and a Black Veil Brides shirt standing behind us.

"Levi." Jessica said, before wrapping her arms around the guy and giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Hey Jess." Levi said, wrapping his arms around Jessica. When they broke apart he looked at me and said, "So what's with the kid?"

_And there's the fucking height bull shit. Arceus, I hope that I actually get taller soon._

Jessica giggled lightly and said, "He's not a kid, he's sixteen. And his names Riku, he just moved in and we thought that it would be a good idea for him to get some clothes of his own, so he came with me."

He turned to me and said, "Hey." I nodded to him and he turned back to Jessica and said, "Yeah, I got roped into bringing Adam along with me today as well."

"You didn't fucking get roped into taking me anywhere," the Absol, who I assume to be Adam, growled, "I planned on coming here anyway and decided to at least say hi to Jessica since I haven't seen any of them since fucking May."

Levi scoffed and said, "What the hell ever, just piss off."

"Jackass." I heard Adam say under his breath. He turned to me and stuck out his hand and said, "Hey, I'm Adam, nice to meet you."

I shook his hand and nodded at him, but stayed silent.

"Alright, Levi let's go." Jessica said to Levi, taking his hand.

I went to follow them but stopped when Adam put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Hey dude, how about you ditch them and come with me? It'd save you from having to follow them around all day."

I just shrugged, not really wanting to be near Levi too much. Something about him just struck me as a little off.

"I'll take that as a yes." Adam said. Yelling after Jessica and Levi he said, "Hey, Riku and I are gonna go wander around, okay?"

"Alright," Jessica said back, "Riku, I'll text you when we get ready to leave."

We started walking, Adam a few feet ahead of me as I fell back and started walking slower. After a few minutes Adam looked back at me and, seeing me multiple feet behind him, he fell back and started walking next to me.

"Hey man, you don't talk much, do you?" Adam said to me. I just shrugged and he said, "C'mon, I don't bite, you're allowed to speak."

"I hadn't assumed that you bite, to be quite honest." I said, chuckling slightly.

"There you go, now you're being social." He said, "So what, you're here to go and get some clothes, right?"

"Um, yeah." I said.

"Fuck it," Adam said, "I don't have anything better to do, I had just planned on walking around randomly, so let's go do that."

He grabbed my shoulder and steered me into the nearest store.

* * *

Adam and I sat down at a table in the food court, both of us weighed down with shopping bags and my pocket a fair amount of money lighter.

"Well, I guess this is enough shit," Adam said, sighing, "or at least I fucking hope it is."

I chuckled and said, "Honestly dude, I'm pretty sure this may be too much stuff."

"Yeah I guess," Adam said, "So, I was thinking, we haven't really talked much while we were shopping. So how about we actually have a conversation?"

"Alright," I said, "What should we talk about?"

"Well," Adam said, "how about we start with you telling me how you met Maxwell and Jessica."

"Alright," I said, "well, I was trying to steal an orange from Maxwell yesterday when he saw me and confronted me. He took me with them when they went to eat lunch, and when we were done Maxwell asked me if I wanted to move in."

"Interesting," Adam said, "that's actually slightly similar to how I got into my family."

"You're adopted?" I asked, slightly surprised.

"Yep," Adam said, "You didn't really think that I could be related to as big of a douche bag as Levi, did you? It was about six or seven years ago and I was living on the streets. I tried to steal a little bit of money from a guy, but he caught me. Instead of taking me to the cops like I thought he would, he just brought me to an orphanage, and a few months later Levi came in with his parents. I'm not quite sure why they decided to adopt me or why they even wanted to adopt a kid, but his dad chose me. His mother took a little bit of convincing though. She thought I was odd because of my fur color. And since then I've lived with them, but I never really got along with Levi or his mother, seeing as they both still think that I'm weird."

I chuckled and said, "Yeah, I've faced my fair share of discrimination as well."

"Yeah," Adam said, "well thankfully most adults are pretty alright with it, it's just other kids you've gotta worry about."

As if to emphasize his point at that moment a group consisting of a Houndoom-morph, a Lopunny-morph, and a Garchomp-morph came up to us.

"Oh, what's this?" The Houndoom said, "Did wittle weirdo Adam get a new freak to be friends with? How cute."

"What the hell do you want Archer?" Adam said, annoyed.

I could feel my own anger boiling up and I clenched my hands into fist on my lap to avoid knocking the fuck out of them.

"Aw, what's the matter Adam, not gonna introduce us to Mr. Emo?" The Lopunny said with a sneer on her face.

"Just piss off!" Adam said, almost yelling it.

"Tsk, tsk. Someone's testy today." Archer said, "Must be his time of the month. Alright, we'll go away before we make you go and cry home to your mommy." He started walking away before freezing and saying over his shoulder, "Oh yeah, I forgot, the only mother you have can't stand to look at you."

He continued walking away, the rest of his gang at his heels, all of them roaring with laughter.

"Arceus, they piss me the fuck off." Adam said, grinding his teeth together.

"Who are those assholes?" I asked, opening my fists and seeing that my nails had dug into the palms of my hands some a small amount of blood was beginning to surface.

"The Houndoom is Archer, the gang's leader; the Lopunny is Trinity, Archer's girlfriend; and the Garchomp is Andrew, Trinity's brother" Adam said. "All of them have rich parents and love to pick on anyone who is different, and normally their favorite targets are Kyle and I. They occasionally pick on Jessica, but they don't think that she's as fun, since she normally ignores them and doesn't get mad, but that backfires on Kyle because they insult her to him and he is one protective fucking brother."

"What's their problem with you guys?" I asked.

"For Kyle it's just the fact that he's adopted," Adam replied, "but they have a fucking field day with me. They call me weirdo because of my fur, emo because I wear a lot of black, gay because I've never had a girlfriend, and then there's always the fact that I'm adopted as well." He sighed before closing his eyes, slumping back in his chair and saying, "Arceus, I fucking hate them."

"Just try and forget about them," a female voice said behind me, "they'll always just be assholes."

Adam opened his eyes and said, "Oh, hey Ashtynn."

I turned slightly in my chair and saw a Blaziken-morph standing behind me. She walked around me and took the seat to my right between Adam and me.

"You really should just ignore them, y'know." Ashtynn said.

"Yeah, I know," Adam said, "but they just keep getting under my fucking skin. I mean, I just got back from military camp and they're already on me again. I never get a fucking break."

"You were at military camp?" I asked.

Adam sighed and said, "Yeah, my mom said I had a bad attitude and was a dick to everyone, so she sent me there to try to 'cure me of my bad behavior, but I'm still almost positive she was hoping it would break me of liking what I like somehow."

"What do you mean?" I said.

"Almost all of my family hates how I dress and the kind of music I listen to, so I'm pretty sure that my mother was wanting that to disappear, but all that that place did to me was make me hate over patriotic rednecks even more than I already did." He replied, "Everyone there was a fucking meathead who thought that if you say one insult about our country you should be burned to death immediately, and of course they all had the same attitude towards me that those three fucktards do."

"Calm down," Ashtynn said, putting a hand on Adam shoulder, "you know that they're just attention deprived conformist assholes." She took her hand off his shoulder and turned to me and said, "I didn't get your name by the way."

"Riku." I said, extending my hand to her.

She shook it and said, "I'm Ashtynn, nice to meet you. So did you just move here?"

"Yeah." I said simply.

"He just moved in with Maxwell yesterday." Adam added.

"Oh," Ashtynn said awkwardly, "so are your parents, y'know?"

"Dead?" I asked. She nodded and I said, "Yes, they have been for multiple years now."

"I'm sorry." Ashtynn said.

"Eh, don't worry about it. I've sorta grown to live with it." I said, shrugging.

"So, you guys wanna go walk around or something?" Adam asked.

'Sorry, I can't." Ashtynn said, "My break ends soon."

Adam shrugged and said, "Alright then, it looks like it's just you and me Riku."

We were about to get up when I felt my pocket vibrate. I pulled my phone out and saw that Jessica sent me a text. I looked at it and saw that she was ready to leave.

"That was Jessica." I said, "She's getting ready to leave."

"Alright then, I guess we're leaving now." Adam said, "See-yah Ashtynn."

"Alright then." Ashtynn said, "Bye guys. It was nice meeting you Riku."

"You too." I replied as she began walking away.

Adam and I grabbed the bags again and started walking to the front entrance of the mall. When we got there we saw Jessica standing there with Levi next to her.

"Ready to go Riku?" She asked. I nodded and she said, "Good. So do you guys wanna come over, Maxwell's out of town for a few days so we'd have the house to ourselves?"

"Sure." Levi said.

"I'm up for it." Adam said.

"Alright then, let's go." Jessica said.

Thankfully the rain had cleared up while we were in the mall, so we had a fairly dry walk home with Jessica and Levi walking a few feet ahead of us, deep in a conversation I wasn't paying attention to while Adam and I were just walking in silence, too tired from carrying multiple heavy bags all day to speak. When we finally got home and through the door Adam and I dropped the bags, letting out large sighs.

"C'mon guys, those bags can't be that heavy." Jessica said as soon as we did this.

"You try carrying them around all day." Adam panted out.

"Okay, whatever." Jessica said, "I'm getting a little hungry, you guys want me to order a pizza for dinner?"

I just shrugged while Adam and Levi both said, "Sure."

"Alright then." Jessica said. "Riku, you two can go on upstairs, I'll call you down when it gets here."

"Alright." I said before picking some of the bags up again.

"Here, I'll help you put everything up." Adam said, grabbing the rest of the bags and following me as I went up the stairs.

We went into my room and I closed the door behind us. Looking at my bed I saw a familiar cream colored ball of fur. I went over to it and poked it. Ashley raised her head up, blinking sleepily.

"Ashley, have you been sleeping in here all day?" I asked.

"Yeah sorry," She said groggily, "Your beds really comfortable and I didn't sleep much last night."

I shrugged and said, "I don't really care. I mean, you did live here first."

"Thanks," Ashley said, standing up and stretching. Noticing Adam still standing by the door she said, "Oh, hey Adam, I didn't know you were back already."

Adam chuckled and said, "Yeah, I got back last night, and I met up Riku and Jess at the mall."

"I'm surprised that that camp could stand having you around all summer, seeing as how it seemed like you wouldn't fit in there so well."Ashley said.

"Yeah, sending me there was not the best idea for the staff there." Adam said, "I can't even count how many times I had to do push ups as punishment for not obeying there stupid rules."

Ashley chuckled and said, "I imagine. Anyways I'll get out of your guy's way; I'm starting to feel too lazy today anyway."

She went to the door and opened it with one of her tails before leaving and closing the door behind her.

I sighed and said, "Well I guess we should start putting everything up now."

We began putting up the clothes I bought in silence until I heard Adam say, "What's with this?"

I turned around from putting a pair of jeans on a hanger and in the closet to see Adam holding a pair of black combat boots and a black bandanna.

"What about them?" I asked.

"It just seems a little weird to get. When did you even get them?" He asked.

"When you went to the bathroom." I replied, "And it's not that weird. It's just a style I used to have years ago, so I decided to see if I could still pull it off."

"Whatever man," Adam said, shrugging "Seems slightly odd to me."

"Says the one who only wears black." I said under my breath.

"Hey man," he retorted, "I don't see you wearing any other color."

I was about to reply when I heard Jessica yell up, "Guys, foods here!"

"C'mon," I said, "I'm fucking starving, I haven't eaten today."

Adam nodded and sat down the clothes, then we left then room.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said I'm sorry about the errors and I will try to be better about proofreading in the future, I just hope that the long chapter may help make that up (seriously, this chapter almost doubles the amount of words in this story). Till next time, I hope you enjoyed.


	4. Another Reason For Me To Hate Football

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Onward to the chapter.

 

* * *

**Another Reason for Me to Fucking Hate Football**

I woke up and saw Ashley on my bed next to me, yawning silently. Since I moved in Ashley has been sleeping in here with me on my bed, and I didn't really have any issue with it, so I didn't stop her.

"Morning." I said, reaching over and petting her head.

"Morning." She said "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah." I said, getting off of the bed, "You?"

"It was alright." She said, getting up and stretching, "Although I wish that we had some actual food to wake up to instead of a barely edible greasy excuse for food."

I laughed and said, "Yeah, eating nothing but fast food the past few days has absolutely sucked."

The past three days since Maxwell left we've only been eating fast food and frozen pizza, because apparently the only people that live here that know how to cook are Maxwell and Kyle, and Adam and Levi, who have been staying here as well recently, only leaving to go home and change shower and change clothes, can't cook either.

"Yeah, you're telling me." She said, "And all this is so fucking bad for me as well."

"Oh yeah, Pokemon can't digest fast food and junk food as well, can they?" I said, putting on my boots and tying my bandanna around my neck.

"No," Ashley said, jumping off of my bed, "and it's fucking horrible on me. I always feel like shit for a few hours after eating it."

"Tell you what," I said, "how about I make us all some real food for breakfast?"

Ashley's ears perked up and she said, "Wait, you know how to cook?"

"Um, yeah." I said, laughing sheepishly.

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Ashley asked, "It would have been so much better than the shit we've been eating."

I shrugged and said, "I don't know, it just didn't occur to me, I guess." I opened the bedroom door and said, "C'mon, let's go. The others won't be up for a while anyway."

"Yeah, I don't know how they can sleep until almost eleven." Ashley said as we left, with me closing the door behind us.

Recently my sleep schedule has went from waking up at about five in the morning to waking up at six, which was absolutely an improvement, meanwhile the others all slept in late unless woken up, except for Ashley, who woke up at about the same time as me. When we got to the bottom of the stairs I looked into the living room and saw Adam still asleep on the couch. While they've been staying here Adam's been sleeping on the couch, while Levi has been sleeping with Jessica in her room, which seemed to make Ashley and Adam fairly uneasy. We went into the dining room, which I had only been in a few times since we almost always ate in the living room. The dining room was a large room with a long wooden dining table with six seats on each side, with a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The kitchen was fairly normal, which made for a nice contrast from the fairly grand dining room that you had to go through to get there. I had only been in it once, and that was to get a drink, so I wasn't too acquainted with the placement of everything yet. Three doors lead off of the kitchen, one being the guest room, another one being the bathroom, and the last one being the laundry room. We entered the kitchen and I went to the fridge and opened it.

"What do you want to eat?" I asked Ashley as she leapt up onto the counter.

"I'd love some pancakes if we have any mix." She said, her voice slightly muffled as she opened an overhead cabinet with her mouth.

I closed the fridge and went over to the pantry and started looking around.

"Doesn't look like there's any mix." I said, closing the pantry and turning to Ashley to see her get out a can of coffee and a coffee filter.

"Damn it." She said, putting what she was holding down on the counter, "That sucks."

"Hold on." I said, going back to the fridge, "If we've got the ingredients I could make some from scratch."

"Awesome." Ashley said as I started getting the ingredients out and putting them on the counter.

I began cooking, with Ashley working on the coffee. Apparently in the time she's spent living here she has learned to do a lot of different things, including efficiently and cleanly make coffee by using her mouth as a hand, which I have seen three times now and am still confused as to how the hell she does it. When she was done she leapt off of the counter and came over to me.

"Do you care what I put in them?" I asked her.

"No not really," She responded, "but if you put sweet things in them, could you please make some without it for me? I think that I've already eaten enough unhealthy food for a few weeks in the past three days."

I laughed and said, "Of course. Can you find me some food to put in them though, I hadn't thought about it until now."

"Sure." Ashley said, going over to the pantry.

She came back over to me a few minutes later holding a bag of chocolate chips.

I took them from her and said, "Thanks." As I began adding the chocolate to the food I asked, "So isn't Kyle supposed to get here sometime today?"

"Yep," Ashley replied, "so you'll finally get to meet him. Although he'll probably be home much later-"

She was cut off by the sound of the front door opening and a voice yelling, "Hey, anyone awake yet?"

"Or he'll get home right now." Ashley sighed before responding with, "Yeah, we're in the kitchen!"

Within a few seconds a Zoroark-morph wearing black jeans, a white t-shirt, and black tennis shoes came in the kitchen.

"Hey Ashley." He yawned, giving her a small wave. He noticed me and said, "Oh, hey. You must be Riku, right?"

I nodded and said, "Yep. And I assume that you are Kyle, correct?"

"Yeah." He said, sticking his hand out. I shook it and he said, "So what are you guys doing up this early?"

"You know that I always get up early," Ashley said, "and Riku apparently does as well. And besides, I could ask you the same question, seeing as everyone knows that you're rarely up before noon if you can help it."

"Yeah," he said, chuckling, "but Val's parents wanted to get a move on early today, so we all woke up before the sun was even fucking out yet and left."

"Wow," Ashley said, feigning shock, "you even got up before us."

"Haha," Kyle said sarcastically, "So what are you two even doing?"

I was about to reply when the coffee maker dinged, signaling that it was done.

"I'll get our coffee," Ashley said, leaping back onto the counter, "you can keep cooking. Do you want some Kyle?"

"Sure," He said, with another yawn, "That'd be nice, thanks."

"To answer your question," I said, "I'm making breakfast for everyone."

Kyle let out a sigh and said, "Finally, someone else can cook in this house. It's so fucking annoying sometimes being one of the only ones."

"Oh, shut up." Ashley said, nosing Kyle's coffee over to him on the counter, "Not like you ever cook, anyway."

"Hey, I cook whenever Maxwell's out of town," Kyle said defensively, "and that's normally a fair fucking amount."

"Well, neither of you are cooking right now, so you two can be useful in a different way." I said, "Ashley, can you go get everyone else up and tell them that breakfast is done?"

"Sure." She said, followed by her running out of the room.

"Now Kyle, can you get everyone else coffee while I finishing plating the food up and bring it in there?" I said.

"Sure." He said, opening the same overhead cabinet that Ashley did earlier, "Who all's here besides us?"

"Adam and Levi." I responded, grabbing two of the plates of pancakes and heading towards the door.

"Ugh, Levi's here?" Kyle groaned. I nodded at him and he said, "Arceus, I fucking hate that guy. Something about him just screams "douche bag" to me."

"Oddly enough," I said, "I got the same feeling. Then again, that may just be because he made a joke about my height."

"What do you mean?" Kyle asked, "You can't be shorter than, like, 5, 8 and that isn't that short."

"Yeah." I said, "Oddly enough, when I first got here I was only 5, 2 and I've somehow grown a lot in these four days."

"Huh, that is weird." Kyle said.

I just shrugged at him and entered the dining room and saw Adam walking in, arms stretched above his head and his mouth gaping in a yawn. As soon as I entered he stopped yawning and I could see his nose twitch slightly as he smelled the food.

"Damn dude," he said, "what smells so good?"

"I made pancakes." I said, showing him the plates in my hands before sitting them on the table.

"Wait, you can cook?" He asked. I nodded at him and he said, "Fucking wish you had said something earlier man, I hate fast food. So what's with the bags in the foyer?"

"Kyle's back," I said, "and he is currently getting everyone coffee."

Suddenly a loud yell of, "Son of a bitch that's hot!" came from the kitchen, so Adam and I rushed in there. Kyle was standing a few feet away from the coffee maker, holding his hand, with a small puddle of coffee in the floor in front of him with pieces of ceramic laying in it.

"Correction," I said, sighing, "He is in here burning himself on coffee."

"Fuck that's hot." Kyle said, shaking his hand.

"Well what did you expect," Adam said, "its fresh fucking coffee."

"Shut up, asshole," Kyle said, flipping him off, "or do I need to call your drill sergeant?"

"Hey man, don't even joke about that," Adam retorted, "while you were off having a relaxing vacation I was busy in that hell of a camp having to deal with fucking rednecks."

"Seriously guys, what are you, five?" I said, sighing, "Stop bickering. Listen, I'll clean up the mug, so Kyle, you finish bringing the food in there, and Adam, you finish getting the coffee."

"Alright." They both said.

Adam went over to the counter and said, "You guys want me to get you guys some?"

"I'll get my own." I said, going over to the laundry room door and grabbing the broom and dustpan from inside.

"I've already got mine." Kyle replied as he took a drink of his coffee before sitting it back down and bringing two more plates into the dining room.

I cleaned the shattered mug up as Adam and Kyle did as I told them. When we were all done, Adam and Kyle grabbed their coffee along with the others and left the room, while I got my own.

As I was getting my coffee Ashley came in and said, "Hey, can you get me some, Adam forgot."

"Alright." I said, getting another cup down, "You can go and wait at the table and I'll bring it to you."

"Thanks." Ashley said, exiting the room.

I got her coffee and grabbed mine as well, before going into the dining room. Seeing that everyone except for Jessica and Levi was already sitting at the table I gave Ashley her coffee and sat down in my usual spot. As I sat down, Jessica and Levi came in, both yawning widely.

"Hey, you're back Kyle." Jessica said, waving. "So who picked up the food?" She asked as she and Levi sat down across from me.

"No one." Adam said, "Riku here apparently knows how to cook and never told anyone."

"You can?" Jessica asked. I nodded and she said, "I wish you had said that earlier."

"Alright." I said sighing, "You're the third person to say that. I get it; next time I can do something that isn't really uncommon and has yet to come up in any conversation ever, I'll be sure to tell you."

When we were done all eating, Adam said, "Wow, I never realized just how much I missed real food."

Levi suddenly got up, causing Jessica to say, "What, do you have somewhere to be this early?"

"Yeah," he replied, "remember, I've got football practice today."

"Oh, right," Jessica said, "I forgot. Is it alright if I come and watch?"

"Sure," he said, "but I need to get going now or I'll be late."

"Okay, I'll just catch up after I get showered, then." Jessica said, rising from her chair. She went over to Levi and kissed him on the cheek, having to stand on her toes since he is about six foot while she's about 5, 8, and said, "Love you."

He gave her a quick hug and said, "You too," before leaving the room, followed by the sound of the front door opening and closing, signaling that he left the house.

"That reminds me," Kyle said, "Riku; I'm supposed to take you to the school to get registered."

"If you guys want to wait, I'll come with you." Jessica said.

"Sure," Kyle said, pulling out his phone and checking the screen, "it isn't even seven yet, so it's not even open yet."

Jessica nodded and left the room, and we heard her climbing the stairs quickly.

"Riku, don't you need to shower as well?" Ashley asked me.

"No," I said, rising and starting to get the dirty dishes off of the table, "I've started showering at night, before you get in my room."

Ashley nodded to me and leapt off of her chair and left the room.

"Hey, man," Kyle said, grabbing a few of the dishes off of the table, "do you want me to take care of these?"

"Sure, thanks." I said, handing him the plates I was holding. "Adam and I'll wait in the foyer."

Adam and I went into the foyer and saw two suitcases sitting in the center of it.

"He only took two suitcases with him and he was gone for almost all of the summer?" I asked Adam.

"Yeah, Kyle's always packed fairly lightly," Adam said, "that and I imagine that they used the hotels laundry room while they were there."

"Yeah, I guess." I said.

We stood there in silence for a few minutes until Kyle came out of the dining room and came over to us.

"Arceus, I hope that Jessica doesn't take a while to get ready." He said, "I really want to get this over with."

I chuckled lightly and said, "Hell man, I don't care how long she takes as long as it isn't as long as she took a few days ago. I was waiting for at least an hour."

"Yeah, well she doesn't normally take more than thirty or forty minutes," Kyle said, "so she should be done in a little bit. While we wait, why don't you give me your phone so I can put my number in it?"

"Alright." I said, taking my phone from my pocket and handing it to him.

"Oh yeah," Adam said, "give me the phone when you're done, I haven't done that either."

Kyle looked at him questioningly and said, "You've been hanging out with him for three days and he still doesn't have your number? You stole my phone from me and put it in within the first hour of us knowing each other."

Adam laughed sheepishly and said, "Yeah well, we were younger then, and I've matured more since then."

"Dude, it was two years ago." Kyle said, "Unless that military camp actually did do something to you, in which case we need to fix whatever they did, then you have not matured that much since then."

"Okay then, I sorta forgot." Adam said.

"Well, while you guys do that, I'm going to go upstairs and grab something." I said.

I dashed upstairs and went to my room. I opened my closet and grabbed my jacket off of its hanger and closed the door. I began putting the jacket on as I left my room, closing the door behind me.

When I got downstairs Adam gave me my phone back and said, "Seriously dude? A jacket? It feels good outside."

I shrugged and said, "I don't know, I just like wearing my jacket."

I checked the contacts on my phone and saw two new numbers in it. I pocketed my phone and we continued waiting in silence. After about twenty more minutes Jessica finally came down the stairs.

"So, everyone ready?" Kyle asked. We all nodded and he said, "Okay then, let's go."

We left the house and began walking along the road. I looked up at the sky and saw that it was a blanket of light gray clouds, as far as I could see.

"Damn," I said, "that sky does not look very happy."

Kyle looked up and said, "Yeah, but I checked earlier and there's only, like, a ten percent chance of rain or something, so we should be good."

It took us only about thirty minutes to reach the school. It was a large, two-story building made of red bricks with bleachers almost the size of the school a few feet to the right side of it, and a forest to the left of it.

"I think his practice is about to start, so I'll go ahead and head over there." Jessica said, walking towards the bleachers, "See-yah guys."

"Alright," Kyle said. He turned to me and said, "Adam and I'll be walking around the school, so when you're done come get us."

"Um, alright." I said, "So, where exactly do I go?"

"Just go into the school and follow the signs to the office. When you get there just tell them what your name is and what you're there for." Kyle said.

"Alright." I said.

I went to the front door and opened it. I entered into a hallway lined with lockers. The floor was made of white ceramic tiles and the ceiling was made of gray tiles. I saw a small sign on the wall that was directing to the front office. I followed the signs until I found the office. I entered it and saw three doors on the wall in front of me, and a middle aged woman with blonde hair sitting behind a desk to my left, typing on a computer.

She looked up when I entered and said, "Oh. Hello, how may I help you?"

"Hello," I said, walking over to the desk and extending my hand out, "I'm Riku Mathers, I'm here to register."

"Oh right." The woman said, rising from the desk and shaking my hand, "Maxwell has already called ahead and explained the situation. I'm the receptionist here, Mrs. Fealix, nice to meet you. This is mostly just to fill in a few things that Maxwell wasn't able to tell us, so we hope you can."

"Alright then." I said.

She pointed to the door in the center and said, "Just go through that door. Your guidance counselor is just in there, she's the one you'll want to talk to."

I went over to the door indicated and knocked.

I was answered by a female voice saying, "Come in."

I stepped in and saw an Espeon-morph sitting behind a chair.

"Hello, how can I help you?" She asked.

"Hello, I'm Riku Mathers. I was told that I needed to come down here and register." I said, hovering by the door.

"Yes, we have been expecting you." She said, "My name is Mrs. Skythe and I'll be you're counselor." She motioned to one of the two armchairs across from her desk and said, "Please, sit down." I sat and opened a drawer on the back of her desk and pulled out a file, saying, "There isn't really much to get down still, really. It's mostly just some side things and a small amount of medical info."

"Alright." I said.

"Okay," she said, opening the file and pulling a pen out of a small cup on her desk, "Maxwell has already informed us that, unlike Kyle and Jessica, you'll be using his last name to register." I nodded and she said, "First off, we need to know of any allergies that you may, whether it is food related or not."

"Don't worry, I don't have any allergies." I said.

"Very well." She said, marking something down in the file, "Do you have any existing medical conditions that we need to know about?"

"No, not that I can think of." I said.

"Alright." She said, marking in the file again, "And lastly, we understand that you do not have any education past elementary school, correct?"

"Um, yes." I said nervously.

"Well, in this case we have made an exception to the normal education system due to your situation, so you will be a freshman here along with Kyle and Jessica," She said, "but we will move you back a few grades if your scores show the need for it. Understand?"

"Yes." I said, nodding.

"Very well." She said, nodding, "That will be all. The first day of school will be a week from now. You may go."

I nodded and left, shutting the door behind me. As I passed Mrs. Fealix she gave me a nod of acknowledgment and I left. When I left the school I saw Adam and Kyle on the front walkway, in a stare down with Archer, Trinity, and Andrew, and it looked dangerously close to becoming a full fight, with Archer and Kyle only from each other's face and their hands balled up into fists. I went over to them and stood next to Adam and Kyle.

"Oh look," Andrew yelled, "If it isn't Mr. Emo, Adam's little sidekick. What's the matter, did you call for some backup or something."

"Shut the hell up, you stupid fucking fish!" Adam retorted.

_These two are going to get us in trouble before the school year even fucking starts. That's great._

"Fuck you, you little goth wannabe bitch!" Trinity yelled, getting in Adam's face.

Deciding to end the confrontation before it got even further out of hand, I put my hand on Kyle's shoulder and said, "Leave it dude, just leave it."

He shrugged my hand off of his shoulder and said, "Fuck no; you didn't hear what these assholes said."

"It doesn't matter what they said," I said calmly, "whatever it was, it isn't worth a fight. And besides, no one really wants to see blood spilled right now anyway. So just leave it, they aren't worth it."

"Fuck no man." Kyle said, before throwing a punch aimed directly at Archer's face.

Archer held up his arms, prepping himself for the attack, but before the punch could make contact I reached out and grabbed Kyle's wrist, stopping his fist.

Everyone looked at me in shock and I said, "I said leave it, therefore fucking leave it."

I then dragged him towards the football stadium and away from the fight, with Adam falling behind us reluctantly.

"What the hell dude, let me go back and kick their asses." Kyle said, trying to pull his arm from my grip, but I just ignored him and continued moving.

When we entered the bleachers I saw Jessica rising from her seat, so I continued dragging the struggling Kyle towards her before pushing him back into a seat next to her.

"What the hell happened?" Jessica asked, "I heard you two yelling at someone."

I was about to answer when Kyle blurted out, "It was those assholes who always fuck with us. They wouldn't shut the fuck up, so I was going to kick their asses, until Riku had to step in and stop it."

"Damn it. Really Kyle, your first day back and you're already trying to get into a fight?" Jessica said, sighing, "For fucks sake, you really need to calm the hell down."

"What were those assholes even doing here?" I asked.

"Apparently Andrew and Archer have joined the football team this year," Jessica said, "so they were here for practice."

"Wonderful." Adam said, sighing, "Another reason for me to fucking hate football."

Kyle sighed and got up, saying, "Whatever man, I'm going to go walk around town, You guys wanna come?"

"I'm in." Adam said.

"Alright." Kyle said. Turning to Jessica and I, he said, "What about you guys?"

"I'm good." I said, with Jessica echoing me.

"Alright then, suit yourselves." Kyle said, beginning to walk away, "I'll be back by dinner. C'mon Adam."

As Adam followed him, Jessica yelled after them, "Just please don't get into anymore trouble today, okay?"

Kyle gave her a thumbs up over his shoulder and she sighed.

"He's going to get himself hurt one day." Jessica said. She turned to me and said, "So, you ready to go?" I nodded and she said, "Alright. Levi said he's going out with some if the team, so let's go ahead and head home."

We left the football stadium and I saw Archer, Trinity, and Andrew, standing exactly where I left them, and we walked past them without a glance. As we began walking home, a rather loud clap of thunder sounded out, causing Jessica to jump.

"Damn," She said, looking at the sky, "Looks like the clouds got a fuck ton angrier. Let's hurry home."

Looking up I saw that she was right. The sky had turned form a light gray to almost black while we were out, and I could see blankets of rain pouring down in the distance.

We had been walking for a few more minutes when Jessica said, "Hey, thanks for earlier. Y'know, for keeping Kyle out of trouble." She sighed and said, "I swear, one day that temper of his will get him in the hospital, or worse."

"Yeah," I said, "He should really try to control it."

"He didn't use to have one; it's those assholes that caused him to have it." She said, "He doesn't even give a shit when they insult him or anyone else, except for me."

"Is he really that protective of you?" I asked.

Jessica sighed and said, "Yeah, he has been ever since we were on the street. He doesn't like leaving me alone without him or one of our friends. I mean, hell, it took forever for us to convince him to go on vacation with Jasmine, since every single time it was suggested he shrugged it off."

"So does he just think that he's the only one that can protect you or something?" I asked.

"Yeah," Jessica replied, "He kept coming up with excuses, but I know that he just wanted to stay to keep me safe. Hell, every boyfriend I've ever had he's threatened about what he'll do if they hurt me."

"Damn." I said, before we returned to walking in silence.

After a few more minutes of walking there was an exceptionally loud clap of thunder, followed by rain starting to pour down, pelting us. We continued trudging through the rain, which quickly began dropping in temperature to where it felt like it was damn near freezing, but I threw my hood up over my head, and my jacket kept me dry and warm. Looking over, I saw that Jessica was soaked and shivering, with her arms wrapped around her, which didn't surprise me seeing as she was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans.  _And they called me crazy for taking my jacket with me._ I took my head off and slid my jacket off of me, exposing my arms and head to the cold rain, before putting the hood on Jessica's head and draping the jacket itself over her.

She looked at me, an expression of surprise on her face, and said, "Th-thank you."

Jessica put her arms through the sleeves and we continued walking, the only sound being the pounding of the rain on the sidewalk.  _Fuck its cold._ I looked over at Jessica and saw that her shivering had now completely stopped and she was no longer getting wet from the rain.  _Fuck it, I can deal with it. Better me than her, anyways._

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how did everyone enjoy the chapter and the introduction of Kyle? I know I didn't really put much detail into what he was doing while cooking, but that is just because I really saw no point in it, seeing as this is a fanfic, not a cookbook. Anyway, I hope everyone liked the chapter. Goodbye until next time.


	5. Twenty Feet Is A Long Way To Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's go.

 

* * *

**Twenty Feet is a Long Way to Fall**

"Damn it!" Kyle yelled, sitting his controller on his bed, "How the hell are you so good at this shit when it's your first time?"

I just shrugged and said, "I don't know, luck I guess."

"Whatever man," Adam said, sitting his own controller down, "you were playing like you're a fucking veteran or something."

We were currently still home alone, even though Maxwell should have been home yesterday, but he ended up needing to extend his trip another four or five days, as he wasn't finished with all of the work that he needed to get done in time, so Kyle, Adam, and I were currently sitting in Kyle's room, with the rest of the house damn near silent. Kyle had dug a small TV out of his closet and had me bring the Xbox from my room over so that we could do some two versus one on Modern Warfare 3 and still be in the same room. And of course, since they love playing fair, it was Adam and Kyle against me, yet I had managed to beat them in all three matches we played, which caused some minor disbelief from Adam and a slight bit of rage from Kyle.

"I'm telling you, I've never played before." I said.

Kyle sighed and shut off their game, saying, "Whatever man, but next time, I'm on your team."

"If you remember," I said, shutting off my own game, "you two are the ones who wanted to double team me, I would happily been on a team with one of you."

I stood up off of the floor as Kyle flopped back onto his bed. Adam got up and went to the window and pulled back the black curtains, letting in the blinding sunlight.

"How about we go do something outside?" He suggested. "I mean, it's like, eighty degrees and there's not a cloud in the sky."

Kyle sat up and said, "Sure. How about we go skate?"

"I'm up for it," Adam said, "but we'll need to stop by my house so I can grab my board."

"You can just borrow one of mine." Kyle said, getting up and walking to his closet. He opened it and pulled out two skateboards and handed one to Adam, before turning to me and asking, "You ever skate before?"

"No." I replied.

"You wanna try?" Kyle asked. "Or would you just find some way to kick our asses in it, as well?"

"No, it's never really appealed to me," I said, "but I'll still come with you."

"Alright then," Kyle said, closing the door and walking over to his bedroom door, "then let's go."

I left the room, followed by Adam and Kyle, who closed the door behind him. We went downstairs, and I could hear Jessica and Levi talking in the living room.

"Hey, do you think we should ask Jessica if she wants to come?" Adam said.

"Sure, I guess," Kyle said, shrugging, "but I doubt she'll want to."

"I'll go ask." I said, going over to the doorway. I stuck my head in and, seeing Jessica and Levi sitting on the couch while watching TV, I said, "Hey, we're gonna head out and go skate. You wanna come?"

"Sure." Jessica said, standing up. She turned to Levi and said, "You wanna come?"

"Sure." He said, standing up as well.

"Alright," Jessica said, "just let me head upstairs and grab my board."

"Alright," I said, "I'll go wait with the others."

We left the room and Jessica and Levi went upstairs.

"So, is she actually coming?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah, she's just gotta go grab her board." I said.

"So," Adam said, "where's the jacket?"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Y'know," he said, "your jacket. You said that you just really like wearing it around, so why aren't you?"

I laughed and said, "Oh yeah, that. I don't really like wearing my jacket a lot, I just knew that it was going to rain that day, and I didn't tell you guys because I was hoping that you would be rained on."

"Wow, I had just met you and you were already fucking with me." Kyle said, in mock shock. "But what about Jessica? She still got poured on."

"That was just unplanned." I said. "And besides, she didn't get rained on. She wore my jacket home."

Adam whistled and said, "Wow, already getting serious. Does Levi know?"

"Shut the hell up." I said, as he and Kyle started laughing.

We stood there in silence after that, waiting, for a few minutes, before Jessica and Levi came down the stairs, with Jessica holding her skateboard.

"So, everyone ready?" Kyle asked. We all nodded and he said, "Alright then, let's go."

We left the house and started walking.

"So, where are we going?" I asked.

"The skate park in town." Kyle said.

"If you could even call it that." Adam said. "Pretty much all that is there is a bowl and a few quarters."

"Yeah, but J keeps it well maintained, and it's the best we've got anyway." Jessica said.

"Who's J?" I asked.

"Jax." Adam replied. "He runs a small coffee shop in town and runs the skate park. He normally has his nephew run the place while he works the shop, but sometimes they'll swap roles for a day or so."

I nodded and we continued walking in silence. When we got to the skate park I saw that they were pretty much spot on with their description of the park. It was a fenced in area with a large bowl and two quarter pipes, along with a benches nailed to the concrete ground. On the far side of the park, next to the bowl, I could see a drop immediately past the fence.

"What's with the drop over there?" I asked.

"You mean the city's largest fucking health hazard?" Adam said. "On the other side of that fence is about five more inches of concrete, and then a straight twenty foot drop into a concrete ground."

"Why is the drop even there?" I asked.

"They had originally planned to build a hotel or some shit there," Kyle said, "but the funding was cut short before they had even started building, so they just never really put anything there."

"So why don't they do something to make it safer?" I asked.

"Because the city government is full of useless and lazy fuckers, who have never accomplished anything." A voice said behind us.

We turned around and saw a Feraligatr-morph behind us.

"Oh, hey J." Jessica said.

"Hey kids," J said, "so who's the new guy?"

"This is Riku," Jessica said, "we met him recently and dad adopted him."

"Well then, it's nice to meet you Riku." J said, holding out his hand.

I shook it and said, "You too."

"So, now that all of you are back in town, you finally decided to come see old Jax?" J asked.

"Yeah, "Kyle said, "we decided to come and skate since today's one of the final good days of the year."

"Yeah, that's about right." J said. "It's supposed to pour the rest of the week."

"That sucks." Adam said, as all six of us entered the park.

"Meh, what can you do?" J said.

Levi and I sat on a bench, with J standing next to us, while Adam, Kyle, and Jessica started skating. After a few minutes Adam stopped skating and sat next to me.

After a few more minutes of us just talking I heard a voice say, "Well, well, well, if it isn't the towns little orphanage."

At this Kyle and Jessica stopped skating and leapt out of the bowl and landed on their feet and we all turned and looked at the entrance to the park. Archer, Andrew, and Trinity were standing there, all of them holding a skateboard.

"What the hell do you assholes want?" Kyle said.

"What's the matter," Trinity said, smirking, "are we not allowed to come here and skate as well?"

I could tell that Kyle was about to snap and try to kick their asses, as I knew that he was still pissed about me stopping him the other day, which I knew because he brought it up almost daily. I shot a quick glance at Jessica, who stared back at me, and then I shot a look at Kyle.

Understanding what I meant, she quickly said, "No, don't worry, you can be here. I mean, it is a free country, so go ahead."

"Why thanks, Princess," Trinity said, still smirking, "I was being a smart-ass, but it's always nice to know that I have your permission to do something I had planned on doing anyway."

After she said this, the three of them leapt into the bowl and started skating. Jessica restarted as well, but when Kyle went to follow I stood up and stopped him by grabbing his shoulder.

"What?" He hissed at me.

"Keep calm," I said, "I know you're still pissed, and imagine that you do still have a good reason, but don't do anything stupid."

"Whatever." He replied, before pulling himself out of my grip and joining Jessica in the bowl.

I sighed and sat back down next to Adam.

"He's really going to get himself hurt if he tries what he did at the school." I said.

"Yeah," Adam said, "but, I mean, you didn't hear what they said."

"Yep," I said, sighing, "and I don't entirely care, to be quite honest."

Adam just shrugged and dropped the topic. After a few minutes everyone except for Kyle and Jessica was standing on the sidelines, with Archer, Trinity, and Andrew on the opposite side of the bowl.

"Arceus, you guys suck!" Trinity yelled. "I could skate better in my sleep."

Thankfully, the two in the bowl seemed to ignore her, but she continued nevertheless.

"C'mon, you guys don't deserve to own boards!" She yelled. "Especially you, Princess."

They continued to ignore them, but I could see that Kyle was having to restrain himself from leaping off of his board and attacking her.

"I would have thought that with how strong your knees are that would have somehow made you good at skating." Trinity said. "Who knows, maybe your quick hands can give you some help in sports."

At this, Kyle went up their side of the bowl and leapt off of his board, landing on his feet on the ground.

"She shouldn't have said that." Adam said, under his breath.

"Take that back, you little fucking whore!" Kyle yelled, carrying far past the parks perimeter.

"Why should I?" Trinity said, the same smirk plastered on her face.

"Because if you don't," Kyle said, getting in her face, "I'll kick your scrawny little ass."

As I watched the two argue, I couldn't help but notice that Andrew was continuously tossing a small rock up in the air and catching it, but his stare was disturbing me. He seemed to be watching Jessica with an almost predatory glare. As Kyle and Trinity continued arguing, Jessica was still skating, either not realizing what was happening or not caring, in the case of the latter I couldn't really blame her. As she went up the side of the bowl and neared its rim, he reeled his hand back and sent the small rock flying at the front wheels on her board. He hit his mark precisely, getting the rock caught between the front of the wheel and the ground, causing the board to stop moving, but Jessica's momentum kept her moving, causing her to fly up in the air. The four of us paying attention let out a gasp as this happened, but as soon as I saw where she was headed my heart seemed to stop. _Fuck._  She was aimed at the fence on the far side of the park, the only thing protecting her from plummeting twenty feet, and she would easily clear it.

"Fuck!" She screamed out, drawing Kyle's attention.

"No!" Kyle yelled out.

As soon as Kyle turned his head, Archer, Trinity, and Andrew took off running for the exit to the park, but stopped at the exit and just watched Jessica fly through the air, smirks plastered to their faces. As Jessica cleared the fence, I started running, not even thinking. I leapt up onto a bench near the fence and launched myself off of the back of it, aimed at Jessica. I flew through the air, over the fence, and caught her, but we were both now beginning to fall.  _Metal skeleton, don't fail me now._ We plummeted the twenty feet, and I landed on the hard concrete on my feet, sending jolts of pain up my body, but I had Jessica held tight, in a position similar to bridal style, in my arms, keeping her from hitting the ground. I grunted in pain and dropped to one knee, sitting Jessica on the ground. Looking down, I saw that her eyes were sealed shut and a look of fear was plastered on her face.

"Hey," I said, leaning down to her, "you can open your eyes."

She opened her eyes and quickly looked around, the look of fear still evident in her eyes. The fear was replace by a look of surprise and relief.

"Riku? You saved me?" She asked.

"Of course," I said, "I would never let anything happen to you."

"Th-thanks." She replied, before standing up.

I went to stand up, but I collapsed onto the ground, feeling extremely light headed.

"Here, you should sit down, that was a long drop." Jessica said.

"You're probably right."I said, standing up enough to where she didn't have to completely support me. "That was a really fucking long drop, and I probably shouldn't have survived it to begin with."

I looked up and saw the heads of Kyle, Adam, Levi, and J pop over the fence one by one, the fear showing on their face.

"Holy shit, how in the hell are they not dead?" Adam said.

"Stay right there," J yelled down at us, "we'll be right down!"

"Don't worry," I yelled back, as they left, "I can't really move to begin with."

It took a few minutes for the others to get down to us, and when they did, they all ran over to us, and Adam and J knelt down next to me.

"Jessica, you alright?" Kyle asked Jessica, as Levi wrapped her in a hug.

"Yeah, I'm good," she said, "thanks to Riku."

Kyle nodded before kneeling down to me and saying, "Hey, you alright?"

"Yeah, sorta," I said, "but I don't think I can walk."

"What's up, did you break something?" Adam asked.

"No, I don't think so," I said, "just really light headed, and I don't think that my legs can support me."

"Shit man, that's still not good." Kyle said. "And we've still got to get you home."

"You guys want me to take you?" J asked. "I've got my truck parked nearby."

"If you don't mind, that'd be pretty helpful," Kyle said, "thanks."

J nodded before dashing off. We just waited in silence, the only sound being Jessica's quiet gasps, which I assume are because she still hadn't completely calmed down. After a few minutes, a burgundy truck turned the corner and drove up to us. It parked in front of us and J got out and walked over to us.

"Alright," he said, leaning down to me and helping me stand, "let's go."

He helped support me as we went to the truck. He sat me in the back seat and Adam got in behind me. He closed the door and got in the driver's seat, with Kyle getting into the passengers and Jessica and Levi getting in the bed.

J rolled down the window and yelled out it, "Hey, you guys ready back there?"

"Yeah!" Jessica yelled back.

We pulled out of the lot and started driving down the road.

"So," I said, "what happened to those jackasses?"

"They ditched." Adam said. "As soon as you cleared the fence they bolted."

"Fucking bastards." Kyle said.

"Don't worry," I said, "we'll get those fuckers."

Kyle turned around to face me and said, "Wait, so you won't stop me next time?"

"Dude, they tried to kill Jessica." I said. "Trust me on this one man; I'll start swinging before you even get the chance to think about it."

"Good," Kyle replied, turning to face the front again, "'cause I'm about tired of their bullshit."

I nodded and we sat in silence. After a few more minutes I began to feel extremely light headed, before suddenly slumping over onto Adam and passing out.

* * *

I woke up in darkness, my head killing me, still completely dressed, and on a soft surface. I went to sit up, but immediately regretted it, as I felt light headed, so I just dropped back down. Looking around as best as I could, I could tell that I was in my room, on my bed. I tried to sit up again, but the light headed feeling was even worse, so I put my head back down with a groan.

"Hey dude," I heard Adam's voice say, "don't overdo yourself. You've been out all day, so if you can't sit up it's perfectly fine."

The light was turned on; causing my head to feel like it was exploding. I let out another groan and shut my eyes, covering them with my arms as well.

"Shit, sorry." Adam said, before turning the lights back off.

I then felt an addition of weight on the bed near the foot, signaling that he had sat down on it.

"How long did you say I was out?" I asked.

"All day," Adam replied, "it's currently about one or two in the morning."

"Damn." I said, sighing.

"Yep." Adam said. "Hey man, what happened back there?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean in the truck." He clarified. "I mean, one minute you're just sitting there, talking, and then the next you're passed out on my shoulder."

"I don't know." I said. "I just passed out, I guess."

"Fuck man, I guess." Adam said. "But, hell, you had all of us worried that you had died or some shit. I mean, Jessica was in tears, talking about how if you had died or if there were any long term issues, it would all be her fault."

"Damn." I said, feeling guilty for causing all of them this much worry.

"Yeah." Adam said. "We tried to get a doctor out here, but they don't do house calls anymore, so the only one we could call is friends with Maxwell, but he was in the middle of doing some surgery, so he was out, but we were able to get him to agree to come and check you out tomorrow."

"What about Maxwell?" I asked. "Does he know?"

"Yep." Adam said, sighing. "When we told him what happened he was pissed off. We tried to talk him out of it, but he cut his trip short, and he should be back home sometime tomorrow."

"Damn." I said, sighing. "I really caused you guys to worry this much?"

"Well, duh, man. I mean, your part of the fucking family, why wouldn't you?" Adam replied. He stood up and said, "Hey, I'm gonna go get some sleep, we just wanted someone to wait in here in case you woke up. I don't advise trying to get up or anything either, by the way, seeing as just trying to sit made you almost pass out."

"Alright." I said. "Goodnight man."

"Yeah, you too." Adam replied, before leaving the room.

_Arceus, I can't believe that they were that worried about me._

* * *

I woke up to see sunlight filtering in through the crack in between my curtains, and Jessica sitting on the bed next to me. I went to sit up and found that I could do so without feeling like I was going to pass out.

"Hey." I said, getting Jessica's attention.

She jumped slightly, before turning to me and saying, sounding slightly distracted, "Oh, hey, you're awake. That's good"

"Yeah, I suppose." I said. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, it was alright." She said, looking at the ground.

"Hey, look at me." I said.

She didn't move, so I put my hand under her chin and turned her to me, and I could see a few tears starting to form in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked, already predicting what the answer would be.

"It's just," she said, more tears starting to form and run down her face, "I feel so guilty about yesterday. I mean, it was all my fault."

"Hey, c'mon," I said, "it isn't your fault. If anyone's to blame, it's Andrew; he's the one who threw the stone."

"No, it's not just his fault." Jessica said. "I could have easily balanced myself out in mid-air and landed before I went over the fence, but I wasn't thinking. And you could have died and now you're hurt, and for all we know it could be serious or permanent, and it's all my fault."

"Hey," I said, wrapping my arms around her, causing her to hide her face in my shoulder, "it's alright, I don't blame you. And even if it is serious, it doesn't matter; what matters is that you're still alive and well."

She brought her head up and said, "Really, you don't blame me?"

"Of course not." I said, wiping the tears off of her face, "Now please stop crying. It ruins your beautiful face."

She looked at me and our eyes locked for a few moments, before she seemed to shake herself back to reality and left my arms, but I could make out what looked to be a blush spreading across her face under her orange fur.

"R-right, okay." she said, turning her head away from me. She got up and said, "Well, Kyle made breakfast. Do you want me to bring you some up?"

"That'd be nice," I said, "thanks."

She nodded, before leaving. She came back a few minutes later, a plate of eggs and bacon in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, and sat them down on my bedside table, not saying anything and not making eye contact. Shrugging it off, I began eating. When I finished eating, I just sat the dishes on my bedside table.  _I wonder if I can walk yet._ I tried to stand up, and actually accomplished it, not even feeling remotely light headed. Deciding to actually do something productive, I took a shower, but when I got out I began feeling slightly lightheaded. I quickly got dressed before leaving my bathroom and sitting on my bed. After a few minutes there was a knock on the door.

"You can come in." I responded.

The door opened to reveal Maxwell standing there. He entered, closing the door behind him, and leaned up against it.

"So I see you're awake. That's good." He said.

"Yeah." I said. "And I can walk fairly well."

"While that is good," he said, "I don't really advise it, at least not until getting cleared by the doctor."

"Yeah, probably." I said. "Y'know, you didn't need to come home early just because I got hurt."

"Yes, I did." He said, sitting on the bed next to me. "You got injured and both you and Jessica could have died, that is a fairly viable reason to come home early. That, and I feel that I should have a talk with Andrew's parents."

"Please don't." I said. Maxwell looked at me oddly, so I said, "They already pick on us enough, and we all know that that will only make it worse. And besides, I think I already know how we're going to get back at them."

"Are you sure?" Maxwell asked. "All it would take is a phone call."

"Yes, just please leave it to me." I said.

"Well, alright." Maxwell said, standing up. "I'll just let you do what you seem to know how to do."

"Thank you." I said, as he left the room.

When he was out of the room I flopped back on the bed, letting out a large sigh.

"Trust me," I said, talking to myself, "if there is one thing I've learned how to do recently, its revenge."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was fun. Remember children, don't leap off of large drops, unless you really want to. I'd make the best counselor in the world, wouldn't I. And for the record, to anyone who doesn't get the whole metal skeleton thing, Lucarios have a metal skeleton. Anyway, I hope that this was enjoyed by many, and if not, then I apologize, but you can just get over it. Anyways, I shall see you all in the next chapter, where Riku tackles his worst enemy yet: the first day of school. Goodbye.


	6. I Hate Your Cool-headedness

 

* * *

**I Hate Your Cool-headedness**

I heard a knock on my door as I finished trying my boots.

"Yeah?" I said, straightening up.

"Hurry up, man." Kyle's voice said from the other side. "We gotta leave soon."

"Almost ready." I said, followed by his footsteps retreating from the door.

I went over to my desk and grabbed my phone, before pocketing it. I grabbed my backpack from next to the door and left, before heading towards the stairs. I had been given the all clear by the doctor, so I was actually allowed to walk, but I was cautioned to take it easy and not really do too many strenuous activities, but Maxwell seemed to take that slightly too seriously, as he had originally wanted me to stay in my bed whenever possible, but I had argued with him, and we had finally agreed on me just staying in the house the whole time, which I had no issue with, as Kyle and Jessica had been nice enough to stick with me and not leave the house either. When I got to the foot of the stairs, I saw that Kyle and Jessica were already waiting, ready to go, with Maxwell standing there as well.

"Finally dude." Kyle said. "Do you know how pissed off our teachers would be if we were late on the first day of school?"

"Sorry." I said. "And besides, I didn't take that long, so calm down."

"It doesn't matter how long you took," Jessica said, sighing, "let's just go."

"Right." I said, nodding.

We started for the front door, but Maxwell stopped me, putting his hand on my shoulder. I turned to him, and immediately knew what he was going to say.

"Listen, Riku," he started, "are you absolutely sure that you want to walk to school? I mean, I could always drive you."

"I'm fine with walking." I said. "I promise, it's no big deal."

"Are you sure?" He asked. I nodded, so he hesitantly said, "Alright then. You can go now."

I nodded, before following the others out the door. When I got outside, I saw Jessica and Kyle waiting for me, and impatient look on Kyle's face.

"Alright then," he said, "now we can go."

We started walking, Kyle slightly ahead of us, as he was on the verge of running, rather than walking. As we left the property, I fell back slightly, and Jessica followed.

"What's with him?" I asked. "I never thought that he'd be this eager to get to school."

"Well, there are only two reasons that I can see," Jessica said, "either he really wants to see his girlfriend, or he doesn't want to piss the teachers off even more by being late."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Has he already found some way to piss them off?"

"Well," she said, "I don't imagine that failing the first year of high school would make them too happy."

"He failed his freshman year?" I said.

"Yep." Jessica replied. "Maxwell got slightly pissed about it and almost didn't let him go with his girlfriend this summer, but he decided that he could go anyway."

"How did Kyle feel about failing?" I asked.

"He didn't really care." She said, shrugging. "In his eyes, it just put him in the same grade as pretty much everyone else. I mean, I'm a freshman, Adam's a freshman, Ashtynn's a freshman, his girlfriend, her brother, and her brother's boyfriend are all freshman. Literally everyone he knows is a freshman."

"Why?" I asked. "Does he just hate everyone else?"

"Not necessarily." Jessica said. "It's mostly just due to the fact that he isn't the most social person in the world, so he was always hanging out with me, so he just never met anyone in his grade."

"I bet that sucked." I said.

"Probably did at first, but now he doesn't really seem to see any bad parts about it, since he's in the same boat as us." She said.

I shrugged, and we continued walking in silence. We eventually reached the school, and we entered it to hear a group of unintelligible voices coming from the cafeteria. We went to the cafeteria, where I saw Buneary-morph and a Garchomp-morph sitting outside of the door, behind a table with a sign on it reading 'Pick up schedules here'. We went over to the table and I stepped in front of the Buneary.

"Hello." She greeted me, cheerfully. "I don't think I've seen you around before, so allow me to say welcome to our school. If you would tell me your name, then I can get you your schedule."

"Riku Mathers." I told her.

She flipped through a stack of papers in front of her, before pulling one out and handing it to me, saying, "Here you go. I hope you enjoy this school."

"Yeah," I said, feeling slightly awkward due to her peppiness, "thanks, you too."

I turned and entered the cafeteria, which was full of other students, all of them talking loudly.

I stood there, unsure of where to go, when I heard a voice say, "Yo, Riku!"

I turned to my left and saw Adam walking towards me.

"Hey." I said, walking over to meet him.

"So," he said, "how does it feel to be in a high school after so many years?"

I chuckled, before saying, "Dude, I was here a week ago. What the hell do you mean by so many years?"

"Haha, jackass." He said, sarcastically. "You know what I mean. Where's Jess and Kyle?"

"Still getting their schedules, I imagine." I said.

"Alright, well let's go meet up with the others." Adam said.

We started walking through the cafeteria to the back, surrounded by voices on all sides.

"Arceus, people here are loud as hell." I observed.

"You've got that right." He said. "Don't worry, our little group is fairly quiet."

We finally reached the back, where I saw Ashtynn sitting at a table with a Jolteon-morph, a guy with shaggy black hair, and a girl with long brown hair.

Walking over to them, Adam said, "Look who I found wandering around."

I sighed, before saying, "I wasn't wandering around, idiot; I was standing there, as I had just gotten my schedule."

"Whatever." Adam said, sitting down next to Ashtynn.

"Hey Riku." Ashtynn said, waving. "Sit down, we'll be here for a little bit."

I sat down next to Adam, with the Jolteon-morph sitting across from me, his arm around the guy.

"Ashtynn, I truly think you need your eyes checked." The Jolteon said. "You said that he was only, like, 5,1 or some shit."

Ashtynn chuckled, before saying, "Well, he was last time I saw him. How tall are you now, anyway?"

"I think we decided that I was somewhere around 6,4 or 6,5 now." I said. "Granted, those are just rough estimates based off of Kyle's height."

"Well, congratulations," She said, "you somehow went from being the shortest one in our group to the tallest in less than a month. How the hell did you even grow more than a fucking foot in such a short time?" I simply shrugged, so she said, "Whatever, it doesn't really matter. But, you should probably be introduced to these guys."

"We have names, you know," the guy said, "I mean, we aren't normally a collective group."

"Dude," Adam said, "this is school. Everyone is part of some collective group."

"Good point, I guess." The guy said, shrugging. "Anyway, I'm Alex, and this is my boyfriend, Leonard."

"I can introduce myself, y'know." Leonard said, sighing. He waved to me, before saying, "Nice to meet you, Riku. You can just call me Leo if you want; I prefer it over Leonard anyway."

"Even though I find Leonard to be a cute name." Alex said, scratching behind Leo's ear, causing Leo to face-palm.

"Okay then." The girl said, awkwardly. "I'm Valerie, Kyles girlfriend. Where is he, by the way?"

"He should be coming." I said. "I mean, we all got here at the same time, obviously."

At that moment, Kyle came around from the other side of the table and set down next to Valerie.

"Here I am." He said. "Sorry about that, I had to have a little talk with my counselor."

"What about?" Valerie asked him.

"Oh, y'know, the usual." He said, nonchalantly. "Just something about me being kicked out if I fail again."

"That isn't the usual." Valerie said, pushing him, almost knocking him off of his seat. "That's horrible. You can't get kicked out. Do you know how much it'll fuck up your future?"

"Calm down, calm down." Kyle said. "I won't fail again. And besides, if I fail again I won't have to worry about my future, as I'm pretty sure that Maxwell will kill me."

At this, Valerie sighed, saying, "Whatever, just keep your damn grades up this year."

"I will, don't worry." Kyle said. "So, anyone seen Jess yet?"

"Not yet," Ashtynn said, "but I imagine that she's off finding Levi."

Suddenly, Jessica dropped down on the seat next to mine and said, "Hey, I'm here. I was just comparing schedules with Levi."

"Right," Adam said, "that reminds me. We need to compare all of ours. C'mon, give them here."

We all took out our schedules and handed them to Adam, who immediately began reading through them. After a minute or so, he handed them back to us.

"Okay," he said, "so, all of us guys have Math together first period, while you girls are all in a different Math class than us; Riku, Ashtynn, and Valerie have History together for second; the girls and I have Home Ec for third, while the rest of you have Biology together; and then we all get to meet back up for the same lunch period, followed by PE for fourth. And, obviously, anyone that I didn't say for something is off on their own."

"Shit," Jessica said, sighing, "that reminds me, we really should have gotten you an excuse just in case, Riku. You really shouldn't be doing any jogging or anything for a while with what happened."

"Don't worry about it," Kyle reassured, "Coach Grimley is pretty understanding; if you just explain the situation, then he should let you sit out."

"Alright, good." Jessica said. Suddenly, the bell rang, and she said, "Well, I guess that's our cue. See you all in lunch."

We all said goodbye, before getting up and leaving the lunch room, the girls going one way down the hall, while I went with the other guys down the other hall. We eventually made it to the classroom, and upon entering, we saw that we were the only ones in there at the moment. Looking at the whiteboard, we saw that it said to choose whatever seat we wanted, so we all sat in the back right corner, with Kyle in the corner seat, myself to his immediate left, and Adam next to me, and Leo in front of me, with Alex to his right. We sat there talking, as other students started to come in, and we eventually got onto the topic of what happened at the skate park.

"So, you really landed a jump from more than twenty feet up?" Leo asked, the awe prevalent in his voice.

"Yeah." I said. "I passed out shortly after, but I landed it."

"Damn man, that's awesome." He said.

"It wasn't really anything special," I said, modestly, "I just did what first came to mind."

"Shut up man." Adam said, nudging me. "If not for you, Jessica would probably be dead, so stop acting like it was nothing."

"So I guess that explains it." I heard a familiar voice say.

I looked up, behind Alex, and saw Archer and Andrew standing there.

"Explains what?" Adam asked.

"How that little whore is still alive." Archer said.

At this, I quickly glanced over and saw Kyle tense up, ready to leap up and attack Archer. Reacting quickly, I reached over and barred him from getting up.

This was apparently hilarious to the two, as they both started laughing, followed by Archer saying, "Is Mr. Emo here your new anger management counselor, or some shit?"

"I advise that you leave," I said, "or I will stop restraining him."

"Oh yeah," he mocked, "I'm so scared."

At this, Adam readied a Shadow Ball in his hand, saying, "I believe that he said to piss off."

Archer laughed again, saying, "What; is he your new ringleader or some shit?"

"No," I said, "I'm merely the guy who told you to sit down before things get out of control. Now, take my advice, or you won't leave in one piece."

At that point, the bell chose to ring, which prompted the teacher, a portly Typhlosion-morph, to enter. As he went to stand behind his desk, Archer and Andrew took the only remaining seats, in the front, and Adam quickly dissipated the Shadow Ball.

"Okay then class," the teacher said, "let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

"Seriously," Adam was saying, as the two of us were walking through the cafeteria, "it's almost like they fucking planned it."

The two of us had met up after third period, while the others were either still packing there things up in class or, in Kyle's case, speaking with the teacher about something. Since Adam and I were the first to meet up, we had decided to go ahead and find a table empty enough for all of us in the cafeteria.

"I doubt that they planned it," I said, "it's just shit luck."

"I know." He replied, sighing, as we found an empty table. Sitting down at it, Adam sat his tray on the table in front of him, saying, "But, how the hell could we end up with all of us that have classes together having at least one of them in each of them? It fucking sucks."

We were currently discussing the fact that, in every single one of our classes, we had all managed to have either Archer, Andrew, or Trinity, and Adam was convinced that they had somehow planned it.

"Look at it this way," I said, "they may not be in fourth with us."

"With our current luck," he replied, sighing, "there's probably a fairly high chance of it happening."

At this, I merely shrugged. After a few seconds, we were joined by Kyle, Leo, Alex, and Valerie.

"Where are Jessica and Ashtynn?" I asked, as they sat down.

"Jess wanted to go and see Levi before she came to lunch," Kyle answered, "and Ashtynn decided to go with her."

I nodded in response, saying, "I guess that that's understandable."

After a few more minutes of us just sitting there talking, Jessica and Ashtynn joined us, bringing the group back together.

"Hey guys." Ashtynn greeted.

"Hey." Adam said, poking his food with his fork.

"What are you doing, exactly?" I asked.

"Deciding whether I'm hungry enough to risk food poisoning from this shit." He replied. "I mean, did you even look at this shit?"

Having not paid any attention to the food, I looked at his tray, and saw that his concerns were fairly valid.

"What the fuck is that?" I asked.

I picked up what appeared to be a piece of chicken smothered in bread crumbs from his tray. I ripped it in half and saw that it was a bright shade of red almost all the way through.

"This shit isn't even cooked completely." I said, dropping it down onto his tray. "Holy shit, that's disgusting."

"Yep." Adam agreed, pushing his tray away from him.

"Wait," Jessica said, "Riku, are you not eating lunch?"

"Hell no." I said. "Did you not just see that?"

"You need to eat something." She said. "You didn't eat breakfast this morning, and you barely ate anything at dinner last night."

I just shrugged, saying, "I'm not that hungry, I guess. Besides, as I said, this is barely food."

Jessica looked like she was about to reply, but Kyle cut her off, saying, "Just leave him alone, Jess. If he doesn't want to eat, he doesn't have to eat. And for the record, he's right about the food. Trust me, this isn't just a fluke, the food is always this bad."

"Then what exactly do you eat here?" Leo asked.

"Well, the school store opens in the second week of school," Kyle replied, "and they sell chips and shit like that there, so I pretty much solely ate junk food all year."

"That doesn't sound much better." I said.

Kyle shrugged, saying, "I didn't say that I ate it often, I just did whenever I was extremely fucking hungry."

"I guess that's a valid reason." I said.

We continued just sitting there, talking, until the bell rang, prompting all of us to rise and head for the gym. The gym was a large room, with multiple fluorescent lights hanging from the high ceiling; a basketball goal at each end, and bleachers lining the two long walls.

"C'mon, let's go ahead and sit down." Kyle said, leading us up the set of bleachers to our left to the very top, where we sat down.

"Are you sure that Riku will be alright?" Jessica asked. "He really doesn't need to be running or anything."

"Relax," Kyle said, reassuring her, "as I said this morning, Grimley will understand and let him chill on the bleachers if we actually do any physical activity."

"Good." Jessica said.

After a few minutes, we saw three very unwelcome faces enter the room, causing Adam to groan loudly.

"Fuck." He said, sighing. "All three of them? Seriously?"

The three morphs in question appeared to hear him, as they turned our way. As Archer's eyes met mine, a wide grin spread across his face and they started up the bleachers towards us.

"Well, if isn't our favourite classmates." Archer said, mockingly, when they reached us.

"What do you want?" Ashtynn said.

"C'mon," Andrew said, "we just wanted to say hello. Is that too difficult for you stupid Goths to do?"

"Piss off, asshole." Leo said.

"Shut up, you fucking faggot." Trinity retorted.

Trying to defuse the situation before it got out of hand, I said, "Leave. Now."

"Why the hell should we?" Archer said, getting into my face. "The teacher can't save you now, bitch. Coach Hill will take our side over yours any day."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Kyle said. "Coach Grimley's the teacher here, not Hill."

"Not for this week, he's not." Andrew said. "He's still on vacation, so for the first week, Hill will be taking over."

"Congrats." I said. "Now go away."

"Fuck no." Archer said, getting in my face again.

I was about to respond, but I was interrupted by a voice saying, "I'm sorry, Mr. Mullins, I don't think I heard you correctly. What did you just say to them?"

All of us looked at the foot of the bleachers, where we saw Mrs. Skythe standing there, a stern look on her face.

"Oh, um, nothing, Mrs. Skythe." Archer quickly said. "It was nothing, just asking him a question about Math is all."

"That's what I thought." Mrs. Skythe said. "Nevertheless, I advise that you go ahead and take your seats, as Coach Hill is sure to be in here soon."

"Yes ma'am." Archer replied, nodding.

As he and the others started down the stairs, I sent a nod of thanks to Mrs. Skythe, which she returned. As they sat down at the bottom of the bleachers, Mrs. Skythe left the room.

"So, who exactly is Hill?" I asked Kyle.

"He's the football coach here." He replied. "And he's an absolute dick to any student who isn't on the team."

"Which includes us." I said, sighing. "Great."

"What about you needing to sit out?" Jessica asked.

I just shrugged, before saying, "I don't know."

"We'll still most likely just go over rules and shit today," Kyle said, "so it doesn't really matter."

We continued talking as more students came into the room, sitting down on the bleachers. Eventually, a man wearing sweatpants and a red t-shirt came in, and he stood before us.

Clearing his throat to get the class's attention, he said, "I'm Coach Hill, and I will be your teacher for the first week of school." A Plusle-morph in the front row raised her hand, and Hill pointed at her, saying, "Yes?"

"Where's Coach Grimley?" She asked.

"He's not here, and that is all you need to know." Hill replied, rudely. "Now, normally you would get an introduction to the class today, but, as I don't feel that that is needed, you all will be playing dodge ball today." He did a quick head count, before saying, "Alright, divide into four teams of eight."

As everyone started to team up, Jessica grabbed my arm and said, "C'mon, let's go talk to him."

We got up and went down the bleachers and over to Coach Hill.

"Excuse me," Jessica said, when we reached him, "Coach Hill?"

He turned to us, and said, "Yes?"

"Riku can't really play dodge ball today," she said, "he got hurt recently and shouldn't be doing any sports for a while."

"Do you have a note?" Hill asked.

"Um, no." Jessica replied.

"Then you're playing." He said. "Now go find a team."

With that, he walked away, leaving us standing there, a look of disbelief on Jessica's face.

"What the fuck?" She said. "He just blew it."

I just shrugged, saying, "There's nothing we can do about it. If he wants to be an ass, we just have to accept it."

"What?" Jessica said, outraged. "You fell down a twenty foot drop. The last thing you need to do right now is play dodge ball."

"It isn't a big deal." I said. "I'll just play and hope that I don't get hurt any more. C'mon, let's head back to the others."

I started back up the bleachers, Jessica behind me.

When we got back to the others, Kyle asked, "So, what did he say?"

"I'm playing." I said, simply.

"What?" Adam said. "That's bullshit, he can't make you play."

I shrugged, saying, "Technically, he can, and he is. There isn't really anything that I can do."

"Why are you being so calm and accepting of this?" Jessica asked.

I shrugged, saying, "Why not?"

Kyle sighed, saying, "I'm really starting to hate your cool-headedness."

Jessica and I sat back down as Hill said, "Alright, you should be in teams now. Now to decide what teams will be first."

I saw Archer raise his hand, before saying, "Why not our team against Riku's?"

Hill looked at Archer's team and then ours, before a wide grin spread across his face.

"Yes," he said, "that would be a perfect match. Teams, onto the floor."

We got up and went over to the side of the gym closest to us, as Archer's team went over to the other side. Looking over at the other team, I saw that Archer's team consisted of him, Andrew, an Electabuzz, a Charizard, a Swampert, a Machoke, an Aggron, and a Wartortle, all of which were wearing football jerseys.

"Alright, I'll be back in a minute." Hill said, before leaving the room.

"Why do I have a sinking feeling about this match?" Kyle said.

"Probably because everyone on the other team is a football player." Adam said, sighing.

"So, essentially," Leo said, "this isn't going to end very well."

"Pretty much." Ashtynn said.

"So, should we just go ahead and get ourselves eliminated as soon as it starts," Alex asked, "or should we wait and see how many times we get assaulted first?"

"I see no reason to accept defeat so easily." I said.

"Are you kidding me?" Adam said. "Dude, we're fucked to begin with, no matter what we do, we'll only be postponing the inevitable."

"Well, you're very optimistic today." Jessica said.

"He's right though." Leo pointed out.

Jessica shrugged, saying, "Probably, yeah."

At this point, Hill came back, seven rubber balls in his arms.

He sat them in the middle of the room in a line, saying, "I couldn't seem to find all eight, so you'll have to make do with seven." He stepped back over to the bleachers, before yelling, "Begin!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Archer's team had the balls in their hands, and their arms cocked back, ready to throw the balls at us.

"Fuck." Kyle said, right before they launched their arms forward, releasing the balls.

Kyle, Adam, and Valerie were immediately hit, knocking them off of their feet. Leo, Alex, and Ashtynn quickly followed, and all six of them went back over to the bleachers and sat down. I looked over and saw that Archer was still holding his ball, smirking at Jessica and I.

As the already thrown balls rolled back over to their side, Jessica said, "So, you gonna throw it or not?"

Instead of replying, he wound his arm back and sent the ball flying directly towards Jessica's face. I quickly moved in front of her, catching the ball with ease. As soon as I caught the ball, I sent it flying back, and it collided with Archer's stomach with enough force to send him flying back against the wall.

I could feel all eyes on me as I said, "So, shall we continue?"

As I spoke, the rest of Archer's team grabbed the balls off of the ground and sent them flying back.

"Jessica, duck." I said.

She looked at me, confused, but complied. As the balls got closer to me, I leapt up, doing a back flip over all six of them. As soon as I landed, I grabbed two of the rubber spheres and sent them at the opposite side, both colliding with two of my opponents. I sent two more flying over, but only one of them made contact, the other one hitting the opposite wall. I grabbed the remaining two and launched them over, bringing the enemy count down to two. The two remaining opponents, being Andrew and an Electabuzz-morph, grabbed a ball each and sent them flying my way. I once again leapt up and caught the balls. As I began falling back to the floor, I sent both balls flying their way, and they both collided with their targets within seconds.

As I landed, I said, "I believe that is a victory."

Jessica stood back up, and, upon seeing the other team on the floor, said, "Holy shit. How did you do that?"

I just shrugged and went over to the bleachers and sat down. I looked over at Hill and saw that his face had a dumbfounded look on it.

Composing himself, he said, "Um, winner: Riku's team. Other teams, to the floor."

As the other two teams played, we just sat there talking.

"How the hell did you accomplish that?" Kyle asked me.

I shrugged, saying, "I just played the game, that's all."

"Have you ever played dodge ball before?" Adam asked me.

"No." I said. "Today was my first time. And, judging by everyone's reactions, I did fairly well."

"That is an understatement." Ashtynn said. "You singlehandedly took out a team of nothing but football players. That was impressive."

I just shrugged in response, prompting Kyle to say, "Once again, your calmness is starting to get annoying."

At this point the bell rang, signaling that the school day was over. We all got up and grabbed our bags, before heading for the door.

"So," Kyle said, when we were outside, "you guys wanna come over and hang out?"

"Sorry," Valerie said, "we can't. Our parents want our help doing cleaning the house today. Dad's boss is coming over for dinner."

"Alright." He said. Turning to Adam and Ashtynn, he said, "What about you guys?"

"Why not." Adam said, shrugging.

"I don't have to work today," Ashtynn said, "so, sure."

Valerie kissed Kyle, before saying, "See you tomorrow."

"You too." He replied, as Valerie, Alex, and Leo started walking from us.

"See you guys later." Leo yelled back. "It was nice to finally meet you, Riku, and even better to watch you kick some bigot ass."

"Yeah, nice to meet you too." I responded.

"So," Adam asked, "is Levi coming, as well?"

"No, he has a job interview today." Jessica responded. "So we can go ahead and head home."

We started walking home, discussing what all happened today, which mostly consisted of us discussing what happened in PE.

We had been walking for ten minutes or so when I heard a voice yell, "Hey, Mr. Emo!"

We turned around to see Archer and Andrew standing there, along with the rest of their team from earlier.

"Yes?" I replied.

"We didn't really appreciate what happened in class today," he continued, "so we decided that we would come and talk about it."

As he spoke, everyone in his group started charging up a ranged attack, causing me to second guess his intentions. As we stood there, I felt the others tense up next to me.

"Your friends don't seem very talkative." I said. "In fact, they appear to be quite antisocial."

"Oh, did I say talk?" Archer said. "I really meant that we planned to kick your ass."

As he spoke, they sent their attacks flying at us.  _It's been years since I've done this, but fuck it, let's try._ Shortly before their attacks made contact, I started glowing a faint blue, and a large, transparent blue wall formed in front of us, blocking the projectiles.

Everyone looked at me, shocked, and I said, "Leave here, now, or there will be consequences."

"What the fuck are you doing?" Archer asked.

"I said leave." I said, before sending the wall flying at them, knocking them back.

They all scrambled to their feet, before dashing off. The others continued looking at me as Archer and his group disappeared from our sight.

"Dude, what the hell was that?" Adam asked.

I sighed, saying, "I'll explain when we get home. Let's go."

I turned and started back home, with the others following me. We walked in silence, the only sound being passing cars. When we finally got home, I opened the door to find the house silent. I went into the living room and saw Ashley asleep on the couch. I sat down on the couch next to her and the others sat down as well.

When I sat down, I had apparently woken Ashley up, as she raised her head and yawned, before saying, "Hey, you guys are back."

"Yeah," I said, petting her head, "sorry about waking you up."

"It's alright." She said, shrugging. Noticing the silence of the others, she said, "What's with you guys?"

Instead of responding, Kyle said, "So, are you gonna explain what we just witnessed or not?"

I sighed, before saying, "I just controlled aura, that's all."

"Bullshit." Adam said. "I've met Lucarios before, and none of them have been able to do that. What the hell was it?"

Ashley looked at me, confused, before saying, "Riku, what are they talking about?"

I sighed again, saying, "It may be easier to show you, rather than tell you."

With that, I created a transparent blue Shinx on the coffee table, made entirely out of aura, causing the others to let out gasps of shock.

"What is that?" Ashley said.

It opened its mouth, before saying, "I am a Shinx, isn't it obvious?"

Ashley recoiled, before saying, "Did it just talk?"

The Shinx leapt onto the couch in front of her, saying, "Yes, I spoke. And for the record, I'm not an it, as I am technically a part of Riku."

Ashtynn sighed, saying, "Seriously, I'm really fucking confused. Riku, could you please explain what the fuck is happening."

"Alright." I said. "As Shinx said, it is a portion of my aura."

"Yeah, we heard that." Adam said. "But what the fuck does that mean?"

I sighed, saying, "I assume that you all know what aura is, correct? Y'know, all of the emotions and feelings that a living being has." They all nodded, so I continued, "Well, ever since I was young, I've had an odd ability to control my own aura and make things out of it. Other Lucarios can do this in the form of the Aura Sphere, but I can do more than that. By harnessing a certain portion of my aura, I can form something that corresponds to that emotion or part of me. That large wall was from the protective part of me, as I needed to do it or we would have been hurt. Shinx here is the happiness in me."

"So, you can just make anything this way," Jessica asked, "with no restrictions?"

"Not necessarily." I replied. "Depending on how much I feel of that emotion, I can make what I form into different sizes and intensities. So, for example, on the streets I was feeling extremely protective over all of us, as I didn't want any of us to be hurt, so I was able to create a wall that was large enough and strong enough to protect us from harm."

"Cool." Kyle said. "So, what all can you make with the happiness part of you?"

"The strongest thing that I can make with that emotion is what you're looking at." I said. They all looked at me, confused, so I said, "Think about it. I lived on the street until a month ago, I haven't had too much to be happy about until recently. And if you think that that's bad, before I moved in here I didn't even have enough to make anything, the emotion pretty much just existed."

Kyle sighed, before saying, "Dude, you are really fucking weird, and I hope that you know that."

"Trust me, I know." I said, reaching over to Shinx and petting it.

* * *

 


	7. I Refuse To Allow It To Happen To Her

 

* * *

**I Refuse To Allow It To Happen To Her**

I was sitting at my desk, doing my homework and quietly singing along to the music that was playing through my earbuds, when I felt a paw rest on my leg. I looked to my left to see Ashley with a plastic bag in her mouth.

I took out the earbuds and greeted her, "Hey."

"Hey." She returned, dropping the bag. "I have been sent to retrieve you."

"Oh?" I asked. "And what for?"

"The others want you to join them in the pool." She explained.

"I'd prefer not to." I replied.

"Oh, c'mon." She said, nudging me. "It's the middle of October. This is one of the last warm days of the year."

"Maybe later." I said.

"It's supposed to rain later." She pointed out.

"Well, I'm sorry," I said, "but I have homework to do."

Ashley sighed, before saying, "C'mon, you and I both know that that's bullshit. You always finish you work as soon as possible, and you never save it for the weekend."

"Alright, so I'm doing some extra credit work," I said, shrugging, "but, I still need to get it done."

"Riku, your lowest grade is a ninety-five in Gym." She replied. "You don't need extra credit."

"Doesn't mean that it can't help." I responded.

She sighed again, before saying, "You worry too much. Trust me; you won't get kicked out like they threatened. You're one of the smartest students in all of your classes, according to the others. Now, c'mon, you're swimming, and that's final."

"I don't have any swim trunks." I quickly pointed out.

"Adam knew that you would say that," Ashley said, motioning towards the bag, "which is why he grabbed you some on the way over. Go ahead; think of another excuse that I can shoot down."

I sighed, defeated, and said, "Fine, I'll go."

I stood up and grabbed the plastic bag. I went into the bathroom and stripped down, sitting my shoes and phone aside. I looked at the swim trunks that Adam got me and saw that they were a solid black, with one white stripe going down either side. I began putting them on, followed by my shirt again.

"So," I heard Ashley ask, from the other side of the door, "what exactly were you singing?"

"Just some Issues." I replied, exiting the bathroom. "Why?"

"You're pretty good at it." She replied.

"Oh. Thanks." I said, awkwardly.

I started heading for the door, but Ashley stepped in front of me, saying, "C'mon, there's no need to wear a shirt. Swim like a normal person."

"Fine." I said, sighing. I took my shirt off and threw it into the bathroom, before turning back to Ashley and saying, "There. Happy?"

She took a second to answer, and I saw her eyes tracing the hundreds of scars covering my torso. I snapped my fingers, and she shook her head.

"Oh, yeah. I'm good now." She replied.

I nodded and opened the door, allowing her to leave first. I closed the door behind us and we went down stairs. We went through the living room and out to the pool, where I saw Jessica, Adam, Kyle, Ashtynn, Valerie, Leo, and Alex, already swimming. Maxwell had had to visit a local site today, so, while he wasn't home, he would be back early tomorrow morning.

"Oh look," Kyle said, noticing me, "you actually convinced him to join."

"Not true," I said, as Ashley dove into the pool and I sat down on one of the chairs, "there is a large difference between convinced and forced."

"Yes, and there's also a difference between swimming and just sitting on the sidelines." Ashley pointed out. "Now, get in."

"Momentarily." I replied. "I don't completely feel like it yet."

I was suddenly hit by a large amount of water, backed with enough force to knock me off of the chair. I got back up to see Adam and Kyle laughing, with Kyle's face replaced by that of a Vaporeon.

"You ass." I said, walking over to the edge of the pool.

"C'mon man, it was funny." Kyle said, changing his head back to a Zoroark.

"And besides, you could've just made a shield to block it." Adam joked.

I just glared at him, before charging an Aura Sphere and launching it at the two. They both dodged it and it hit the water between them, exploding and launching water at both of them, soaking their still-dry heads. This caused the others to burst out laughing, and Adam and Kyle to flip me off.

"C'mon, you guys kinda deserved it." Leo pointed out.

They just glared back him in response. We had told Leo, Alex, and Valerie about my powers the day after the others discovered it, so now the only one who didn't know about it was Maxwell, just due to the fact that it hadn't come up in a conversation yet.

Jessica swam over to me and said, "C'mon Riku, are you gonna get in or not?"

I sighed, before saying, "Fine, I'll get in."

She moved away and I sat down on the edge of the pool, before dropping into the water. The contrast between the warm autumn weather and the chilly pool struck me as soon as I entered, and it took all of my concentration to keep my teeth from chattering. After a few minutes of swimming around, I became used to the temperature and actually started enjoying myself. We were all having a conversation about random shit, when we were interrupted by a chime sounding out.

"Who's phone was that?" Adam asked.

"That'd be mine." Valerie said, paddling to the edge of the pool. She dried her hand on a towel that was sitting on the ground, and she grabbed her phone, before saying, "Oh, it was the school."

"You actually signed up for that text alert bullshit?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Valerie replied. "I mean, it tells you when we're out of school for some reason, and it can remind you about special events that are going on."

"Well, what's this one about?" Adam asked.

"Something about the Halloween dance this year." She said. "It says that, due to funding cuts, they can't hire an actually DJ or band for it, so they are holding auditions to try and find one that will work for free."

"Sounds cool." Adam said. "Maybe we should try out."

"You have a band?" I asked, surprised.

"To an extent." Jessica replied. "We tried to start a band a few years ago, but we could never find a lead vocalist or a lead guitarist."

"Who all is actually in it?" I asked.

"Well, I play the rhythm guitar," Adam said, "and I cover backing vocals, Kyle's got the drums, and Ash and Jess take the bass guitars."

"So why could you never get the missing members?" Leo asked.

"Everyone we found sucked at it." Kyle said, shrugging.

"I wouldn't say that they sucked," Ashtynn said, "it's just that they were all rather sub-par."

"So, the nice way of saying that they suck." Adam pointed out.

"Well, technically, yes." Ashtynn replied.

"So, are you guys going to audition?" Alex asked.

Adam shrugged, before saying, "I mean, we could, but we'd have to find two members."

"Is it really that hard?" I asked.

"Harder than you think." Jessica replied.

"What exactly was the name of your band, anyway?" Leo asked.

"Sudden Obsession." Adam replied. "And, before you ask, it was just a random name that came up during a meeting."

"I think it's pretty cool." I said, shrugging.

Suddenly, my nose was hit with water. I looked up, to see that the sky had become increasingly overcast, and it was just beginning to rain.

"Damn it." Kyle said. "And I was starting to enjoy myself, too."

Jessica shrugged, before saying, "We could go hang out at the mall, if you want."

"I'm in." I said, shrugging.

The others all agreed, so we got out of the pool and went inside. The others went home to shower, and we decided to bathe as well, before meeting up at the mall. I was the first one done, so I just sat in the living room, talking to Ashley.

"Do you really think that I'm good at singing?" I asked her.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" She replied.

I shrugged, saying, "I don't know. I had always thought that I wasn't too good at it."

"Don't worry, you're great at it." She reassured me. "Hey, why don't you be their lead singer?"

"That'd be cool," I said, "but I'm not too good in front of crowds. I mean, it was difficult for me to play anything on the streets. Granted, when I did, it normally pulled in a good crowd and a fair amount of cash."

"What do you mean by play?" She asked.

"Well," I responded, "I can play guitar as well."

"You're kidding, right?" She asked, disbelief in her voice. I shook my head, and she said, "So you mean that you could potentially fill both empty spots in their band?"

I shrugged, before saying, "Technically, yes. But, I'd prefer if you didn't tell them. I already told you, I have stage fright, and I know that if Kyle and Adam knew, they would bug me until I joined, and I don't want that."

Ashley sighed, before saying, "Whatever, man."

Changing the topic, I asked, "So, you coming to the mall with us?"

She shrugged, saying, "I don't know. I'm not sure why, but I feel like it'd be awkward walking around with you guys."

"I could carry you." I offered, jokingly.

"Okay." She complied.

"Wait, are you being serious?" I asked, shocked.

She laughed, saying, "No, don't worry, I'm kidding. I will come though, if you want me to."

"Cool." I said, scratching behind her ear.

She pushed up to me, and said, "Why does this always feel so good when you do it?"

"What, was I the first one to scratch behind your ear?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." She said, purring slightly.

I laughed, and we sat there, me petting her, until we were joined by Kyle and Jessica.

As they entered, Jessica saw what I was doing, and asked, "Does she actually like that?"

Ashley opened her half-lidded eyes, and said, "Absolutely. It feels fucking wonderful."

"So, you ready to go?" Kyle asked.

"Yep." I said, rising. "C'mon Ashley."

"I'm coming, I'm coming." She replied, getting up.

We all grabbed a jacket and left the house, locking the door behind us. We started for the mall, hoods up against the rain.

"Ugh." Ashley groaned. "As much as I enjoy swimming, I despise rain. All that it's good for is an excuse to sleep in."

"Do you even need one of those?' Kyle asked.

"Not really." Ashley replied, shrugging.

She groaned again, before shaking the water off of her. Pitying her, I looked around, and, confirming that no one else was paying attention to us, I created a small aura ceiling over her head, blocking the rain.

"Thanks." She said, looking up at me.

I nodded in response, and we continued walking.

"So," Kyle said, "are we going to be meeting Levi at the mall? I've noticed that he hasn't been around recently."

"No," Jessica replied, "he's at football practice."

"Seriously?" Ashley asked. "In this weather?"

"Yeah, I guess." Jessica replied. "Being a football player is very demanding."

No one said anything else, but Kyle, Ashley and I shared a questioning look. Shortly before we entered the mall, I made the ceiling disappear. We entered and saw the others, already waiting there.

"There you guys are." Adam said, as we approached them.

"Calm down." Ashtynn said, lightly smacking him in the back of the head. "The rest of us didn't get here until a few minutes ago."

"Doesn't mean that I can't be impatient." Adam replied, shrugging.

Ashtynn just sighed, but said nothing. We started walking through the mall, talking, and getting a few odd looks.  _I can't really blame them, to be honest. A large group, which includes two mis-colored morphs, along with a Ninetails. Then again, it's not like we aren't locals, so I don't quite understand them, still._ After a few hours, we decided to take a break and sit down on the benches outside, under an awning.

"So, why exactly are we out here?" Ashtynn asked, as we sat down.

"I don't know." Jessica replied, shrugging. "It's just something to do."

"Yeah, I guess." Ashtynn replied. "So, do you guys actually want to try out for the dance?"

Kyle shrugged, saying, "I guess. I mean, it sounds fun."

"That it does." Jessica agreed.

"Hey," Adam said, "maybe Riku here can provide some special effects."

"Please, stop." I said, starting to get annoyed by his constant jokes.

"C'mon man," he said, "you know, use some of your freaky aura shit, give us some nice scenery. Wouldn't be too bad."

I sighed, and Jessica said, "Adam, please stop."

"What?" Adam asked. "All I'm saying is that our nice little weirdo could show off a nice little light show."

 _I've fucking had it._  I quickly shot up from my seat, taking everyone by surprise, and grabbed Adam by his neck, lifting him up and pinning him to the wall.

"I fucking said stop." I yelled at him.

"Dude, what the hell?" Leo yelled, shocked.

"Okay, okay." Adam choked out. "I was just joking, man. I'm sorry. It won't happen again, I promise."

I continued holding him by his throat, gripping him tighter.

"Riku, let him go." Jessica said, pulling on my arm.

I reluctantly loosened my grip, allowing Adam so drop to the ground, where he sat, gasping for breath. I looked at the others and saw looks that were mixtures of shock and fright. I sighed, sitting back down on the bench.

"What was that all about?" Alex asked me.

"Sorry about that." I said, speaking to Adam. "It's just, I can't stand it when you joke about my ability."

"Why?" Kyle asked. "I mean, your aura shit is awesome."

I sighed, before saying, "Maybe to you guys, but I can't fucking stand having it. I mean, to you guys it's an awesome power, but to me, it's just another thing that, should anyone discover it, will cause me to be bullied and discriminated against even more. I mean, really, it's just another thing that makes me weird and odd."

"Damn." Kyle said. "I guess I never really thought about it that way."

I simply nodded in response. By now, Adam was done gasping for breath, so I reached down, offering to help him up.

"Thanks." He said, accepting my hand.

"Listen, I'm sorry that I almost killed you." I said.

"Don't be," he said, holding his hand up, "I'm sorry that I fucked with you about it for a month. Honestly, I probably should have stopped when you told me to."

"Well, you guys make up quickly." Ashtynn said.

"Now all we're missing is the kiss." Valerie joked.

We both just glared at her in response, which elicited laughs from the others.

"Anyway," Jessica said, "you guys wanna go home? I mean, it's getting kind of late."

The others agreed, but I said, "Nah, I think I'll wonder around a little more. Give myself some time to calm down."

"Alright." Jessica responded, nodding, before they threw their hoods up and started walking away.

"Want me to stay with you?" Ashley asked.

"If you want to." I said, shrugging.

She nodded, before yelling after the others, "Guys, I'm gonna chill with Riku!"

I saw the hooded figure of Jessica throw us a thumb up, and we went inside. We started walking through the mall, randomly wandering around.

"So," I started, "how exactly do Valerie and Alex understand you?"

"What do you mean?" Ashley asked.

"Well, I've never seen any translator ear rings or anything like that," I responded, "and they're humans. So, how can they understand you?"

"Well, you probably don't pick it up, as you can understand me anyway," she replied, as we entered the food court, "but, shortly after being brought into the house, Maxwell brought me to a special teacher, who taught me how to speak English. So, now I can communicate with humans, as well as morphs."

I was about to respond, when I heard a familiar voice coming from a few tables away. I froze and turned my head, and saw Levi sitting at a table, his hand locked with a girl with bleach blonde hair, wearing extremely slutty clothes. I slightly tapped Ashley with my foot, and she looked up at me. I nodded towards the table, and she looked as well, letting out a silent gasp. I signaled for her to follow me, and I led the way to a pillar closer to the pair, which we hid behind. From here I could hear what they were saying, and we poked our heads around the pillar, listening intently.

"So, am I coming over tomorrow?" Levi asked the girl.

"Of course, babe." The girl replied. "I can't wait for a repeat of Monday. It was so wonderful."

_What the fuck?_

"I know," Levi responded, "after all, I was there."

The girl laughed, before taking a serious tone, saying, "So, when are you gonna ditch that little gothic whore?"

I stared down at Ashley, and I saw shock on her face.  _They're talking about Jessica._

"Don't worry," Levi reassured, "I'll get rid of the dumb cunt soon, I promise. I only have to wait a few more weeks and I'm almost positive I'll have her on her knees for me."

At these words, I felt my body tense up, and my hands clenched tightly into fists.

The girl sighed, before saying, "I love hearing about how you trick and control girls. When you come over, you've gotta tell me about that stupid fucking Gardevoir that you had be your sex slave again."

"Of course." Levi said, as they got up.

Just before they left, Levi locked the girl in a kiss, and I saw him grope her ass at the same time. As soon as they were out of site, I released my fists, realizing that I had dug my nails into my palm hard enough to draw blood. I slid down the side of the pillar, not believing what just happened. I looked at Ashley and saw that her facial expression matched how I was feeling: utter shock and disbelief.

"This is horrible." Ashley said, sitting down next to me.

"Yeah." I agreed.

"We have to tell the others." She said.

"No, we can't." I quickly said. She looked at me, confused, so I explained, "Think about it. If we tell Jessica, then she'll be heartbroken, and if we tell Kyle or Adam, they'll go and kick his ass."

Ashley sighed, defeated, before saying, "Then what do we do? We can't just let Levi use Jessica like some sex toy."

"No, we can't." I agreed. "I refuse to allow that to happen to her." I thought for a second, before saying, "I guess we'll just have to keep them under constant supervision when they're together. One of has to be with them, no matter what."

Ashley nodded, saying, determination in her voice, "Right. We can't let him use her. We have to protect her."

I nodded, before saying, "C'mon, let's head home. I've about had it with the mall for today."

Ashley agreed, so we stood up and left the building. I threw my hood up and, after confirming that we were alone, popped the ceiling up above Ashley again, before going out into the rain. We got home in a few minutes, running into very few people. As soon as we entered, we were greeted with the scent of cooked food. We entered the dining room, to find a less than welcoming sight. All of the others had stayed for dinner, but there was also a new comer, whom had his arm wrapped up with Jessica's. Levi.

"Hey," Kyle greeted, "you guys are just in time for dinner. Sorry, but you'll have to go and grab your own plates from the kitchen. We didn't know how late you would be out, so we didn't bother getting them out for you."

"Right." I growled out, a glare fixed on Levi. "Ashley, I'll grab you one; you can go ahead and sit down."

I went to the kitchen, my eyes never leaving Levi.

As soon as I entered the kitchen, I heard Levi ask, "What's his problem?"

"I'm not sure." Jessica replied. "I mean, we had a minor incident at the mall today, so I guess that that could still be bothering him."

I grabbed two plates from the cabinet, along with a fork. I went back into the dining room and sat Ashley's plate down in front of her, before sitting down in my own seat. We all passed around the bowl of pasta that Kyle made, getting some, before we started eating. The whole table was talking, except for myself and Ashley. I just sat there silently, sending a constant glare at Levi. When we were done, I offered to do the dishes, so I took all of the plates and went into the kitchen. I was halfway through the washing the plates, when I heard a throat clear behind me. I turned to see Adam standing there, bouncing from foot to foot nervously.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Well, um, I was sort of curious as to if your still pissed at me." He began. "I mean, you seemed pretty miffed at dinner, and I just wanted to make sure that we were cool."

"Don't worry," I reassured him, "I'm not angry at you."

_Your brother's a different fucking story, though._

"Awesome." Adam replied, a smile spreading across his face. "And, hey, Kyle wanted to challenge you to a rematch in Call of Duty. You, me, and Leo against Him, Alex, Ashtynn and Valerie."

"Alright," I said, nodding, "I'll be up in a bit."

"I'll tell him." Adam said. "We'll go ahead and get everything set up."

With that, he left the room. I finished the dishes shortly after, and I left the room to hear voices coming from the living room. I quickly poked my head in to see Jessica and Levi on the couch, watching TV. Looking over to one of the armchairs, I saw Ashley, her eyes close, but I could tell by her breathing that she was feigning sleep.  _Good. I don't want anything happening to Jessica._ I left before being noticed, and went upstairs.

* * *

 


	8. Serves The Scumbag Right

 

* * *

** Serves The Scumbag Right **

All of us were sitting outside on the lawn, watching Sudden Obsession practice. They had found two new members, a Sceptile named Lee as the lead vocalist, and a Machamp named Michael as the lead guitarist, and since then they have been practicing almost constantly. Granted, they didn't really seem to need it, as they already sounded extremely good. As they finished up, the crowd, consisting of myself, Ashley, Levi, and Maxwell started clapping. As we continued, they all took a bow, and Adam strummed out another chord on his guitar.

"That was really good." Maxwell complimented, standing up. "You guys will absolutely get the gig."

"Arceus, I hope so." Adam said, sighing.

"We will, trust me." Ashtynn said, going over to him. "I mean, we've practiced almost nonstop for weeks, we have to get it."

"Trust me," I added, "you will."

"I can't see any reason as to why you wouldn't." Ashley said. "Unless, of course, you happen to miss your audition."

"What?" Jessica asked, before looking at her phone. "Shit, you're right. It's almost time. Guys, we need to go now."

"Well then, we should probably pack up." Adam said.

The only ones that actually had to pack up were Adam, Lee, Jessica, and Ashtynn, as Kyle had been able to store his second drum set at the school, and Michael would be using the school's mic that they provided. Granted, packing up for them was nothing more than making sure that they had their picks with them, as they just wore their instruments around their necks by the straps.

Just as they were about to leave, Jessica asked me, "Riku, do you wanna come?"

"Sure." I replied. "It beats anything that I could do here."

She nodded and we started for the school, Lee and Michael in the front, followed by Jessica and Levi, with Adam, Kyle, Ashtynn, and I bringing up the rear.

"So, are you guys playing the same song for your audition?" I asked.

"Yep." Adam replied, nodding. "I mean, it's one of the songs that we have practiced the most."

"Is it going to be played at the party?" I asked.

"Probably not." Kyle replied. "I mean, we wanted to choose songs that are at least slightly horror themed, as it is a Halloween party, and that song doesn't exactly fit the criteria."

"Well, neither does the first song," Ashtynn pointed out, "but that one we just thought would be a good opening song."

"Well, yeah." Kyle said, shrugging.

We continued walking until we got to the school. We were about to enter the building, when Levi's phone rang.

He pulled it from his pocket and checked the screen, before saying, "It's Hill. I need to take this."

_I can guarantee that that is bullshit._

"Oh, okay." Jessica said, as he went off towards the football stadium.

"Hey," I said, as they started entering the building, "I think that I'm gonna chill out here. I don't want to be a distraction or anything."

"Alright." Adam said. "We'll tell you how it goes."

"Okay, good luck." I said, as they went into the building.

As soon as they were gone, I stealthily started for the stadium, careful to not make a sound. When I got closer, I heard Levi's voice, coming from, around the side. I slowly crept to where I could hear what he was saying.

"Listen, babe," he was saying, "I'm sorry, but I can't come tonight. You know that I still need to get that bitch."

At his words, I could feel my hands balling up into fists, clenching so tightly that my nails were digging into the palms of my hands.

"No, I haven't asked yet." He said. There was a minor pause, before he said, "Because I can't. That useless fucking Ninetails is always hanging out with her, and if not her, then it's that stupid Lucario freak." Another pause, before, "You know that I can't tell them to get out, she would think that that was mean or rude or some shit." Pause, then, "Well, if she gets mad at me, than I can't fuck her, can I?" Pause, followed by, "Alright, I'll see you soon, babe. Goodbye."

He hung up the phone, before sighing.

"Hey, freak," he said, surprising me, "it isn't very nice to listen in on other people's phone calls."

I stepped around the corner to face him, saying, "Yes, well it isn't very nice to play games with someone's mind, is it?'

"It doesn't matter whether it's nice or not," he growled out, getting in my face, "because I'm doing it anyway. Face it, that bitch wants it, she's just waiting for me to start it."

"I highly advise that you think about who you're talking to," I said, not backing down, "when you start insulting Jessica."

"So?" He replied. "Who's gonna stop me? I can insult that little slutty whore all that I want."

I snapped. I shot my fist out, connecting with Levi's stomach. He doubled over, as the air was knocked out of his lungs. I followed the punch with a swift kick, my boot connecting with his chin. He flew back onto the ground, and coughed up some blood, along with a tooth. He tried to pick himself up, but I went over to him and beat him to it. I grabbed him by his shirt and slammed him into the concrete wall of the stadium, causing a few cracks to form; webbing out from the point of contact.

"Listen to me, fucker," I said, getting next to his ear, "I don't ever want to hear of you insulting her again. And if you ever, and I mean ever, try and hurt her than I will break every bone in your damn body. Understand?"

He didn't respond, instead sending his foot out, kicking at me. His foot connected with my shin, but I ignored it, as I pulled him away from the wall, just to slam him into it again.

"I said, do you fucking understand?" I growled out.

"Yes." He gasped out, coughing up more blood.

"Good." I said, dropping him on the ground.

He picked himself up off of the ground, before starting to walk away, limping slightly. As he went, he looked back at me, and I shot him a glare. When he disappeared from my sight, I went back around to the front of the school. I was only standing there for a few minutes when the others came out of the building, smiles plastered to their faces.

"How'd it go?" I asked.

"Perfectly." Ashtynn replied. "They loved it. We get to play the Halloween dance."

"Nice." I said, nodding.

"Hey," Jessica said, "where's Levi at? I wanted to tell him the good news."

"He had to go." I said, quickly thinking of an excuse. "Hill wanted to have a quick meeting with the team, something about wanting to practice some plays he just came up with."

"Oh, okay." She said, looking slightly hurt.

"Don't worry," I said, feeling slightly bad, "I'm sure he'll come back over later today."

"Right." Jessica said, seeming to cheer up. "C'mon let's go home."

"Actually," Lee spoke up, "I've got to go home. My parents don't want me being out too much after we practiced until two in the morning."

"Yeah," Michael added, "and I've gotta go meet my girlfriend at the mall."

"Alright, then." Jessica said, nodding.

Lee and Michael walked off, waving goodbye.

"Well, let's go ahead then." Kyle said.

We all started off home, discussing the upcoming dance. By the time that we got home, large clouds had gathered over us, and a few flakes of snow had started falling.

"Is it seriously snowing?" I asked, looking at the sky.

"Yep," Jessica replied, as we entered the house, "it normally starts at about this time of year."

"Seriously?" I asked. "A week before Halloween?"

"Yep." She replied. "While you may find it odd, it does let us have snowball fights fairly early."

"Granted, I don't know if I want to have one with you." Kyle added. "Especially after your performance in dodge ball."

I just shrugged, as Maxwell and Ashley came into the room.

"So, how'd it go?" Maxwell asked.

"We got it." Jessica said. "We get to play the dance next Friday."

"Awesome." Maxwell said, a smile spreading across his face. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks." She replied.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Kyle turned around and opened it, to reveal Levi standing there, the blood cleaned from his face. You could still see the effect that I had on him, though, as he was missing a tooth on the top row, near the front, and he had a busted lip.

"Holy shit," Jessica said, rushing over to him, "what happened to you?"

Levi's eyes fell on me, and I locked gazes with him. I sent him a glare, daring him to tell the truth.

"Just practice." He quickly said. "We got a little out of hand, and I got hurt. It's no big deal."

"Yes it is." Jessica insisted. "C'mon, let's go upstairs so I can take a look at that lip. I also want to make sure that you aren't hurt anywhere else."

"Alright." He agreed, before allowing her to lead him upstairs.

As he started climbing the stairs, he turned to look at me, and I shot him another glare.

As soon as they disappeared from our site, Kyle said, "Serves the scumbag right."

"Kyle!" Maxwell scolded him.

"What?" Kyle responded. "I'm only speaking the truth."

"What makes you think that he's a scumbag?" Maxwell questioned.

Kyle seemed to be stumped, as he didn't answer, and I had to resist helping him.

"Oh, trust me," Adam said, "he sucks. Completely."

Maxwell sighed, before saying, "Whatever. Just go get washed up, dinner's almost ready."

Adam nodded, and we all went upstairs. As I was just about to start up, I felt a light tugging on my pants. I looked down to see Ashley standing next to me.

"Yes?" I asked.

"What the hell did you do to him?" She asked me. "He looks like he got on the bad side of a MMA fighter."

"I didn't do anything." I replied. "All of his injuries were caused by himself."

It was obvious that Ashley could see through my lie, but she dropped it, allowing me to go upstairs.

* * *

 


	9. My Own Stupidity Just Put Your Dream At Risk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allow me to open this up with "obligatory Friday the thirteenth greeting". Now that that's out of the way, shall we continue?
> 
> *A quick note, for this chapter, along with all other chapters that resemble this one, in this story, along with any other stories, I will put a link to a playlist of all of the songs in it: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLywpKjZbh9hhM2vFcU71ua3MFzyEYhjcO

* * *

**My Own Stupidity Put Your Dream At Risk**

"C'mon, are you sure you don't want to come?" Jessica was asking me, as she absentmindedly ran her fingers through her orange and died black fur.

"I'm positive." I said, as Kyle and Adam came down the stairs.

Adam was wearing a long black cloak, going down to just above the bottom of his feet, and Kyle wearing his normal garb, but with some added dye in his fur, making long, winding red tattoos going up his arms, meeting on his face, which was covered with a plain white mask.

"Alright, I guess." She responded. "I'm not going to force you to come."

"Trust me," I said, "I would love to go and see you guys play; I'm just not too good in a crowd."

"Don't worry," she replied, "it's alright."

Ashtynn poked her head in from outside, small fake devil horns first, and said, "Hey, we gotta go."

Jessica looked at her and said, "Alright. Bye Riku."

"Bye." I replied. "Good luck."

She nodded, and they all started for the door. As their instruments we already at the school, they didn't need to carry them. As they left, I waved goodbye to them. As the door closed, I let out a small sigh, and Ashley came into the room.

"So, remind me please," she said, "why exactly aren't you going with them?"

I shrugged, and said, "I just don't want to. I mean, you know that I'm not good with being social, and that's a dance, for fucks sake."

"C'mon," she said, "Jessica seemed like she really wanted you to go."

"Well, I apologize, but I just didn't want to." I said.

"They could use the emotional support." Ashley persisted.

"They have Valerie, Alex, and Leo." I replied.

Ashley growled, before tackling me, catching me off guard.

"What the hell?" I asked, as I hit the ground.

"You are going." She said, getting in my face. "They want you to, so I am forcing you to."

Quickly thinking of another excuse, I said, "Well, I don't exactly have a costume."

Ashley just grinned, before saying, "You just leave that to me."

Fifteen minutes later, I was standing in front of the door mirror in my bathroom, in my 'costume'. I was wearing my usual clothing of a plain black t-shirt and black jeans, but Ashley had made some additions. I was now wearing leather spike bracelets, with two single rows on my left arm and a triple row on my right. I had white face paint on, going around my eyes, trailing back to my temples in a point, and my finger nails were painted completely black.

"I guess this works." I said, looking at my reflection.

"Well, it's the best I could do on such short notice." Ashley said, from my bed. "Now, get going."

"What do you mean?" I asked, turning to face her. "You're coming with me."

"What?" She asked, shocked. "No. It's not like I can, anyway. The school doesn't allow Pokemon to enter."

"Don't care." I said. "I'll sneak you in. All I know, is that if I have to go, then you do, as well."

She looked like she wanted to argue again, but she just sighed, and said, "Fine, I'll go."

"That's what I thought." I said, heading to the door of my room. I opened it, and said, "Now, after you."

She left the room, and I followed. We went down the stairs and left the house. We started walking to the school, trying to hurry.

"Y'know, it really sucks that Maxwell had to go out of town again." I said.

"Yeah," Ashley agreed, "I bet that Jessica would have liked to get some words of support from him before they left."

"Well, now they'll have us as support, though." I said, as we arrived at the school.

I entered the building, and went into the cafeteria, where I knew that they would have the dance. I was shocked to see that the whole room was transformed. The normal lunch tables had been removed and put into some other rooms, with a few normal tables being used to hold drinks and food, scattered throughout the room. The lights were turned extremely low, to where they were almost off. Looking around, I saw fake Zubats and cobwebs on the roof and walls. At the far wall, a large stage had been set up, with the black shapes of speakers, Kyle's drums, and a microphone stand sticking out in the darkness, and curtains coming off of it, connecting to the walls on either side of it. I could tell that the stage was pushed away from the wall multiple feet, presumably to keep all of the equipment hidden, as well. Ashley and I slowly made our way over to the stage, and, looking around, I saw that all eyes were trained onto it.

"Wow," I commented, "they must really want to see them play."

"Yeah, I guess." I said. "But, if they're focusing on the stage that much, they probably should be playing already. I wonder what's up."

When we reached the stage, we snuck around to the curtains, before sneaking through. When we entered, we saw Ashtynn, Adam, Kyle, and Jessica by the back of the stage, their instruments next to them, with Adam pacing constantly.

I went over to them, and said, "What's up?"

They turned to look at me, and Jessica said, "Oh, you decided to come."

"Yeah, Ashley here persuaded me." I said, motioning to her. "But, more importantly, shouldn't you guys be playing by now?"

"Technically, yes." Ashtynn responded.

"Then what's up?" I asked.

Adam growled, before answering, "It's fucking Lee and Michael."

"What did they do?" I asked, shocked by his response.

"It's what the assholes didn't do that's pissing me off." He replied. "Neither of them are here. I called them multiple times, and they aren't answering. They're fucking hanging up as soon as they see that it's me."

"What are you guys going to do?" Ashley asked.

Kyle sighed, before saying, "There isn't really anything that we can do. I mean, if just Lee wasn't here then we could just have Adam do the vocals-"

"Not really." Adam interjected. "I haven't memorized the lead vocals for all of the songs, so that wouldn't work."

"Well," Kyle continued, "and we'd absolutely need Michael. I mean, technically Adam could cover lead guitar, while Ashtynn could take over the rhythm guitar, as she can play some-"

"But, once again," Ashtynn interjected, "we have another case of not knowing the parts. We sort of expected everyone to be here, so this sort of ruins it."

"So, now we're stuck." Kyle said.

"I mean," Jessica added, "where the hell could we find another guitarist and a singer that knows these parts, on such short notice."

At this, I felt a small pang of guilt. I knew what songs they're going to play, and I could cover them perfectly, I just didn't want to. I looked down, and saw Ashley staring up at me, a pleading look in her eyes. I quickly averted my gaze, as her look made me feel even guiltier, but I turned to face the others. I saw their hung heads, and the downcast look in Jessica's eyes. I sighed, knowing that I had just caved. I nervously raised my hand.

Ashtynn noticed me, and said, "Wait, do you know someone, Riku?" I nodded, and she said, "Really? Who?"

"Well, um, me." I said, nervously.

"Seriously?" Adam asked, shocked. "What role?"

"Well, both." I said, shyly.

"Can you really?" Kyle said. "And why are we just now hearing about this?"

"I just never mentioned it." I said, shrugging. "Besides, I don't really have an instrument."

"Don't worry about it," Adam said, going over to a guitar case, "I've got one you can use."

He opened it and pulled out a black guitar, with one long white stripe going up its length, and another stripe coming up from the bottom corner, near where the neck starts, going up and connecting with the long stripe. In the other bottom corner, there was a white 'S' and a white 'U'

"Why do you have this?" I asked him, as he came back over.

"I always keep extras around." He said, holding the instrument out to me. "So, will you take over their spots?"

I was reluctant, to say the least. I looked around at the others, and saw the pleading looks on all of their faces. I sighed, before accepting the guitar.

"Alright, I'll do it." I said.

"Yes!" Jessica cheered, jumping up from the box that she was sitting on.

"But," I quickly said, "I don't know what songs you guys are playing."

"Here." Adam said, handing me a piece of paper.

I looked at it and saw that I knew every song on it.

"Alright," I said, returning the paper to Adam, "luckily for you guys, I know all of the songs on this, so we're good."

"Alright, let's go." Ashtynn said, grabbing her instrument.

As I put the guitar strap on, we started out through the curtains, entering onto the stage. As I came up to the microphone, I could see all eyes focusing on me. Suddenly, spotlights came on, shining onto all of us, blinding me. I blinked a few times, as spots appeared in my vision. I just stood there, frozen, as the crowds eyes stared on. After a few seconds, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Adam next to me, worry in his eyes.

"Hey man, you alright?" He whispered.

"Yeah," I whispered back, "just some minor stage fright. Here, you introduce us, and then I'll start up the first song."

He nodded, and stepped up to the microphone.

"Alright. " He began. "We apologize for the minor technical difficulties at the beginning, but we are here to play. Anyway, we are Sudden Obsession, and we are here to entertain you guys. Now, let's get this shit started."

He stepped back from the microphone, allowing me to take his place. I took a deep breath, before beginning to play  _Bleed It Out_ by Linkin Park.

_Yeah here we go for the hundredth time  
Hand grenade pins in every line_

_Throw 'em up and let something shine_  
 _Going out of my fucking mind_

_Filthy mouth, no excuse_  
 _Find a new place to hang this noose_

_String me up from atop these roofs_  
 _Knot it tight so I won't get loose_

_Truth is you can stop and stare_  
 _Run myself out and no one cares_

_Dug the trench out laid down there_  
 _With a shovel up out of reach somewhere_

_Yeah, someone pour it in_  
 _Make it a dirt dance floor again_

_Say your prayers and stomp it out_  
 _When they bring that chorus in_

_I bleed it out digging deeper_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_I bleed it out digging deeper_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_I bleed it out digging deeper_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_Just to throw it away_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_I bleed it out_

_Go stop the show_  
 _Choppy words and a sloppy flow_

_Shotgun opera lock and load_  
 _Cock it back and then watch it go_

_Mama help me I've been cursed_  
 _Death is rolling in every verse_

_Candy paint on his brand new hearse_  
 _Can't contain him he knows he works_

_Fuck this hurts, I won't lie_  
 _Doesn't matter how hard I try_

_Half the words don't mean a thing_  
 _And I know that I won't be satisfied_

_So why try ignoring him_  
 _Make it a dirt dance floor again_

_Say your prayers and stomp it out_  
 _When they bring that chorus in_

_I bleed it out digging deeper_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_I bleed it out digging deeper_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_I bleed it out digging deeper_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_Just to throw it away_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_I bleed it out_

_I've opened up these scars_  
 _I'll make you face this_

_I've pulled myself so far_  
 _I'll make you, face, this, now!_

_I bleed it out digging deeper  
Just to throw it away_

_I bleed it out digging deeper_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_I bleed it out digging deeper_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_Just to throw it away_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_I bleed it out digging deeper_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_I bleed it out digging deeper_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_I bleed it out digging deeper_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_Just to throw it away_  
 _Just to throw it away_

_I bleed it out_  
 _I bleed it out_  
 _I bleed it out_

I took another deep breath as we finished the first song, and the crowd exploded in laughter. I was legitimately shocked that I was able to play the song so well, as it had been months since I even touched a guitar. I looked around at the others and saw that a mixture of shock and awe was plastered on their faces, and I could only imagine that mine followed suit. Adam nodded at me, mouthing out, "Next song?" I nodded in response, getting ready for the next track. I started up  _Straight Jacket Supermodel_ by Eve to Adam.

_I've got a plan. I know the game._ __  
_I cross the line and things will never be the same._ __  
_It's gotta be right, it's gotta be clean._ __  
_I gotta cover all the spaces in between._ __  
_Because I want to be someone (someone you want to be like),_ __  
_one of a kind (just do it if it feels right),_ __  
_Fucking contagious (living in the limelight),_ _  
__out of my mind..._

_Cuz I am the all original, so hated that it's criminal,_ __  
_My fame is on the throttle, straitjacket supermodel._ __  
_Sideways on the level, tap dancing with the devil,_ _  
__I'm bringing down the gospel, straitjacket supermodel._

_So can you be trusted?, can you be told?,_ __  
_Can you just shut your mouth and never tell a soul?,_ __  
_Because if you want to be someone, (someone you want to be like),_ __  
_one of a kind (just do it if it feels right),_ __  
_Fucking contagious (living in the limelight),_ _  
__Out of my mind..._

_Cuz I am the all original, so hated that it's criminal,_ __  
_My fame is on the throttle, straitjacket supermodel._ __  
_Sideways on the level, tap dancing with the devil,_ _  
__I'm bringing down the gospel, straitjacket supermodel._

_(just do it if it feels right)_ __  
_(living in the limelight)_ __  
_(do it if it feels right)_ __  
_Straightjacket supermodel._ __  
_(someone you want to be like, just do it if it feels right)_ __  
_(living in the limelight)._ _  
__I'm out of my mind._

_Cuz I am the all original, so hated that it's criminal,_ __  
_My fame is on the throttle, straitjacket supermodel._ __  
_Sideways on the level, tap dancing with the devil,_ _  
__I'm bringing down the gospel, straitjacket supermodel._

_Straitjacket supermodel._ __  
_Straitjacket supermodel._ __  
_Straitjacket supermodel._ _  
__Straitjacket supermodel._

I looked back at the others, making sure that they were ready to continue. Adam moved up to stand next to me, as he was covering the chorus.

"Damn, dude," he whispered as the crowd cheered, "you should have told us that you are this fucking good. We never would have bothered with those assholes to begin with."

I just shrugged, and responded with, "Well, now you know."

"Yeah, and it's fucking awesome." He said. "Now, you ready?"

"Let's go." I replied, before beginning  _Dead Bite_ by Hollywood Undead.

_Goodnight, sleep tight  
Don't let the dead bite_

_Johnny 3, and he's dipping in the four door_  
 _44 and it's pointing at your window_  
 _Ain't a good shot, here come four more_  
 _Getting hot, so I play in the snow_  
 _In a town made wicked, made from these wicked things_  
 _See the dead on the cover of a magazine_  
 _See my smile, it was born from amphetamines_  
 _Better duck, 'cause it's war on my enemies_

_Oh, God, think I lost it oh no_  
 _Lost some and wanna watch the rest go_  
 _A mad man when I'm mixed with Soco_  
 _Who would've thought a man could sink to so low_  
 _Now, who wants to die from the Mossberg shotty?_  
 _Putting holes in the hotel lobby!_  
 _All you fake bitches are just another hobby_  
 _And I'll let you dig, where I dump your body_

_What would you do if I told you I hate you?_  
 _What would you do if your life's on the line?_  
 _What would you say if I told you I hate you?_  
 _I've got something that'll blow your mind, mind_

_You know I got a grenade, and it's got your name on it_  
 _I'ma spit on your grave and engrave a dick on it_  
 _People say I'm insane and to put the brakes on it_  
 _Let me buy you a drink, how 'bout a roofy, gin and tonic?_

_Yeah, Charlie Scene seems to be so hated_  
 _It's just me being intoxicated_  
 _'Cause being sober's so overrated_  
 _Hollywood Undead, what have you created?_

_I know that we have never really met before_  
 _But, tell me, does this rag smell like chloroform?_  
 _You know that I'm the reason people lock their doors_  
 _But, I got nothing but time, so, I'ma wait on the porch_  
 _You got nowhere to run too, so, don't try hiding_  
 _'Cause I'm known to be like Jack Nicholson from The Shining_

_Yeah, I'm breaking your door down, so, don't try fighting_  
 _Yeah, you gotta keep 'em fed, or the dead keep biting_

_What would you do if I told you I hate you?_  
 _What would you do if your life's on the line?_  
 _What would you say if I told you I hate you?_  
 _I've got something that'll blow your mind, mind_

_Goodnight, sleep tight_  
 _Don't let the dead bite_  
 _Wrap a rope around your head and watch you as you take flight_

_You better check twice, look under your bed_  
 _Turn on your nightlight, cover up your head_  
 _'Cause we do exist, and there's no need to pretend_  
 _That you're not afraid of meeting the Undead_  
 _Red, red rum, when you look into these eyes_  
 _Say goodnight, 'cause it's almost your bedtime_  
 _Buckle up, 'cause it's time to fly_  
 _You got a first-class ticket to Colombian Neckties_  
 _Take a seat, you could sit in the front row_  
 _The voice in your head is just me in your headphones_  
 _Everybody knows that we're the devil's heroes_  
 _Come and get a ticket, follow me to the creep show_

_What would you do if I told you I hate you?_  
 _What would you do if your life's on the line?_  
 _What would you say if I told you I hate you?_  
 _I've got something that'll blow your mind, mind_

_Goodnight, sleep tight_  
 _Don't let the dead bite_  
 _Wrap a rope around your head and watch you as you take flight_  
 _Goodnight, sleep tight_  
 _Don't let the dead bite_  
 _Wrap a rope around your head and watch you as you take flight_

"Holy shit." Adam gasped out, moving his mouth away from the microphone. "That was fucking fun."

"You better not be thinking about stealing my job, kid." I joked.

He laughed, before saying, "No, I think I'll stick with what I have. I do prefer it."

"So, how many songs left?" I asked, unable to remember.

"We have another one after this," he replied, "and then I think that we were going to take a short break before the last one."

"Sounds good." I said, as he stepped away from the microphone.

As he got back in place, I began playing  _Dead Walker Texas Ranger_ by Sleeping With Sirens.

 _A taste for blood_  
Won't hold them back  
With nails that cut like razors  
Hungry for flesh  
See the undead hot on our trails they chase us  
We need a place  
Somewhere to hide  
Where they won't think to go inside  
Watch as your darkest fears return to life (your sins will find you out)

_Don't bother sleeping without one eye open wide_  
 _There are creatures in the night to haunt you_  
 _Their arms are reaching out to hold you tight_  
 _Your demons come alive to chase you_  
 _(ba dada dada da da da da da, dadda da da dadda da da)_

_Nowhere to run they're closing in on us_  
 _I can see the faces in the windows staring in at us_

_Don't bother sleeping without one eye open wide_

_There are creatures in the night to haunt you_  
Their arms are reaching out to hold you tight  
Your demons come alive to chase you

_(Jesse, you take the front door._  
 _Justin and Jack, you take the back,_  
 _If anything comes in,_  
 _You put a bullet in their fucking brains!_  
 _We're coming out of this alive,_  
 _We won't become like them._  
 _We're leaving here tonight._  
 _We're leaving alive!)_

_There's no way to stop_  
 _What has been done_  
 _You felt the bite now you'll be one_  
 _Don't tell your friends what you've become_

_You're not the same_  
 _Cause I can see it in your eyes_  
 _I can see it on your face_  
 _You're hoping for a taste_

_Do you feel your blood starting to boil within your skin?_

_Do you feel your stomach turning?_  
 _You know that it's the end!_

_This is the end_

_(no turning back now you're under its spell)_  
 _(we have no choice, but to send your body back to hell)_

_Don't bother sleeping without one eye open wide_  
 _There are creatures in the night to haunt you_  
 _Their arms are reaching out to hold you tight_  
 _Your demons come alive to chase you_

_Here they come!_  
 _There's nowhere left to run_

_Fuck!_

I finished up the song, stepping away from the microphone, as the crowd began cheering. I felt a hand on my shoulder as Adam came up to me.

I stepped back up to the microphone, before saying, "Alright guys, we're going to take a short break, before going into the finale. So, just wait a few minutes, and we'll be back."

Adam motioned towards me, and we set our instruments down, before going backstage, to meet the others. When I got back there, Jessica immediately wrapped me in a hug.

"Holy shit, you are fucking awesome." She said, squeezing me tighter.

"Um, thanks." I responded.

"Alright, let the kid breathe." Kyle said, removing her arms. Looking at me, he said, "Seriously though, fucking badass."

"Yeah," Ashtynn agreed, "I mean, why didn't this ever come up? I mean, had you told us that you're this damn good, we never would have bothered with those assholes."

I just shrugged, and said, "I just didn't. And besides, I'm not that good."

"Yeah, you sort of fucking are." Adam said, patting me on the back. "You kick ass."

"If you say so." I said, shrugging again.

"Arceus, this is so awesome." Jessica said, bouncing on her feet. "I mean, I never thought that Sudden Obsession would ever actually exist, let alone actually be liked." She pulled us all into a hug, almost knocking Adam and I off of our feet, and said, "I love you guys so much. You're all awesome."

After a few moments, she released us, a grin plastered to her face.

Ashtynn laughed, before saying, "Anyway, I'm going to go and grab something to drink real quick. Anyone want to join me?"

"Sure." Adam said.

"Yeah, I'm slightly thirsty." Jessica replied.

The three of them left through the curtains, leaving Kyle and I alone. We both sat down on some boxes.

"So," I started, "what's with Jessica?"

"What do you mean?" Kyle asked.

"Y'know," I explained, "she was extremely sad about Lee and Michael, but now she's just ecstatic as hell. What's got her so crazy about tonight?"

"Well," he replied, "it's just the whole being in a band thing. I mean, ever since she was a kid, she's always wanted to be in a famous band. And, while we aren't quite famous, and I don't know if we will be, she just loves the thought of being in a band that people like. It's pretty much her life goal, really."

"Damn." I said. "Had I known that this meant so much to her, I would have volunteered to join back when you guys decided to try again."

He shrugged, saying, "Don't worry about it, man. What matters is that you're here now, and you're helping her do what she loves."

At this, I smiled, and said, "Yeah, I guess that you're right."

I saw the curtains move behind Kyle, and Adam, Ashtynn, and Jessica came back in.

"Damn, dude," Adam said, sitting down next to me, "they fucking love us."

"That's probably an understatement." Ashtynn commented. "I mean, when people start filming your performance on their phones and want to take pictures with you, you may have passed up 'love',"

"Why are they freaking out so much?" I inquired. "I'm not saying that we're bad, but we are just a cover band."

"Well, that's partially the reason." Adam explained. "The people of this town love music, and they fucking adore cover bands. I'm honestly surprised that you haven't discovered that by now."

I just shrugged, and said, "Well, I don't really pay too much attention to random people."

"I can't exactly say that I blame you." Kyle said. "So, you guys ready?"

We all nodded, before rising from our seats. We went back onto the stage, to be greeted by tumultuous cheers. We grabbed our instruments and I looked out into the crowd. Suddenly, I got an idea. Signaling for the others to meet at Kyle's drums, I quickly perfected the plan.

"What's up?" Kyle asked me, as we all grouped together.

"Listen, do we have control over the lights in this room?" I asked.

"Well, we can have this room plunged into total blackness, if that's what you mean." Ashtynn replied. "Why?"

Instead of replying, I merely said, "Alright, can we get that done?"

"Yeah, I'll do it." Adam said, before disappearing backstage.

After a few seconds, we were plunged into total blackness, eliciting confused sounds from the crowd. I heard more than saw Adam return to us.

"Alright, good." I said. "So, I assume that we have a tape or something to do the intro to this song, right?"

"Yeah," Jessica replied, "I have the remote to start it in my pocket. Now, will you explain what you're doing?"

"Just wait and see." I replied. "Now, I need everyone to follow my lead. When we get back to our positions and you start the tape, everyone face the ground."

"Okay, then." She replied, confusion laced through her voice.

Before there could be any more questions, I went back to my spot.  _Holy shit, I hope I know what I'm doing. I've never done something this big, so I hope that it works._ After a few seconds, I heard the intro to  _Nightmare_ by Avenged Sevenfold begin playing. As the tape of the piano played, I took a deep breath, preparing myself. Concentrating, I channeled my aura, until a blue outline appeared around myself and Adam, who was a few feet to the left of me, causing a few gasps of shock throughout the crowd. I glanced over and saw him looking down, eyes wide. He looked over to me, and I just grinned. As the intro continued, I followed myself and Adam up with the girls, eliciting more gasps. Finally, just before we joined in and the tape stopped, I outlined Kyle, all the way in the back. Looking out, via Aura Sight, I could see both shocked and curious emotions populating the crowd. As we started up playing our instruments, I removed our outlines, instead combining them all into a large ball that hovered just above the heads of the crowd. I saw a few people reach up to touch it, only to find that it was completely permeable. I took a breath, stepping up to the microphone.

_Nightmare!  
(Now your nightmare comes to life)_

_Dragged ya down below_  
 _Down to the devil's show_  
 _To be his guest forever_  
 _(Peace of mind is less than never)_  
 _Hate to twist your mind_  
 _But God ain't on your side_  
 _And old acquaintance severed_  
 _(Burn the world your last endeavor)_

_Flesh is burning_  
 _You can smell it in the air_  
 _Cause men like you have_  
 _Such an easy soul to steal (steal)_  
 _So stand in line while_  
 _They ink numbers in your head_  
 _You're now a slave_  
 _Until the end of time here_  
 _Nothing stops the madness,_  
 _Turning, haunting, yearning_  
 _Pull the trigger_

_You should have known_  
 _The price of evil_  
 _And it hurts to know_  
 _That you belong here, yeah_  
 _Ooh, it's your fuckin' nightmare_

_(While your nightmare comes to life)_

As I finished the line, the blue ball dissipated, only to be replaced by two cloaked reapers, which appeared at my side. Gasps of shock filled the room, as they raised their heads, looking out into the crowd, their face being nothing more than a blank blackness with glowing eyes. As I started up the next part, they took flight from the stage, and began circling the audience.

_Can't wake up in sweat_  
 _'Cause it ain't over yet_  
 _Still dancing with your demons_  
 _(Victim of your own creation)_  
 _Beyond the will to fight_  
 _Where all that's wrong is right_  
 _Where hate don't need a reason  
_ _(Loathing self-assassination)_

_You've been lied to_  
 _Just to rape you of your sight_  
 _And now they have the nerve_  
 _To tell you how to feel (feel)_  
 _So sedated as they_  
 _Medicate your brain_  
 _And while you slowly_  
 _Go insane they tell ya_  
 _"Given with the best intentions  
_ _Help you with your complications"_

_You should have known_  
 _The price of evil_  
 _And it hurts to know_  
 _That you belong here, yeah_  
 _No one to call_  
 _Everybody to fear_  
 _Your tragic fate is looking so clear, yeah  
_ _Ooh, it's your fuckin' nightmare_

_Now for the fun._ Suddenly, the reapers swooped down on the crowd, causing screams of fright. The shrieks stopped, though, as the entities passed through everyone, merely dragging their scythes across the ground, leaving long blue slices in the floor. The cloaked figures continued flying around, as we played the next part. As the next set of vocals came up, I created another reaper, this one next to me. I took my guitar off, not missing a beat, and handed it to the reaper, who accepted it and began playing. I took the wireless microphone off of the stand, readying for the next part.

_Fight (fight)_  
 _Not to fail (fail)_  
 _Not to fall (fall)_  
 _Or you'll end up like the others_  
 _Die (die)_  
 _Die again (die)_  
 _Drenched in sin (sin)  
_ _With no respect for another_

_Oh_

_Down (down)_  
 _Feel the fire (fire)_  
 _Feel the hate (hate)_  
 _Your pain is what we desire_  
 _Lost (lost)_  
 _Hit the wall (wall)_  
 _Watch you crawl (crawl)  
_ _Such a replaceable liar_

_And I know you hear their voices_  
 _Calling from above_  
 _And I know they may seem real_  
 _These signals of love_  
 _But our life's made up of choices_  
 _Some without appeal_  
 _They took for granted your soul  
_ _And it's ours now to steal_

_(As your nightmare comes to life)_

_You should have known_  
 _The price of evil_  
 _And it hurts to know_  
 _That you belong here, yeah_  
 _No one to call_  
 _Everybody to fear_  
 _Your tragic fate is looking so clear, yeah  
_ _Ooh, it's your fuckin' nightmare_

As we finished the song, I returned to the reaper, retrieving my guitar. When the music ended, the crowd exploded in cheering and applause, and I slowly dissipated the reapers. Taking a small bow, I swung my guitar onto my back by the strap.

As the lights came on, I grabbed the microphone and said, "Alright guys, I apologize, but this appears to be the end of our performance. You guys have been fucking awesome, and we've enjoyed this greatly. Goodnight!"

We stepped off backstage to more cheering and applause.

"Holy fucking shit," Ashtynn said, when we were behind the curtains, "that was the most badass thing I have ever fucking seen. How did you do that?"

"I just channeled aura." I said, shrugging. "I mean, at first I didn't know if it would work, as I had never done anything that extravagant, but I have to say that I was impressed by the results."

"Yeah, you and everyone else." I heard a voice say behind me.

I turned around to see Leo, Alex, Valerie, and Ashley coming over to us.

"Granted, I can't quite blame them." Leo continued. "I mean, those were some awesome fucking special effects."

"I try to not disappoint." I said, taking a small bow.

"Well, trust me," Ashley said, "you didn't. I mean, they're blowing the fuck up out there."

"Trust me," Kyle said, "we can hear. Anyway, you guys ready to go home? I'm starting to get slightly hungry."

"Yeah, let's go." Jessica replied.

"Wait," I said, "how are your drums getting home?"

"The school said that they'll hold onto them until Maxwell can come and pick them up." Kyle explained.

I nodded, and we all left, going out onto the floor. As the curtains fell back into place behind us, there was even more cheering created in the room, and people started trying to swarm us. We sort of just fought our way to the door, amidst complements on our performance, along with a few surprised remarks about people not thinking that we could be so good. We eventually made it to the door, but I suddenly heard a slow clap behind us, followed by the crowd getting quiet.

Adam sighed, before saying, "Why am I almost positive that we can't trust a slow clap?"

We turned around to see a six man group, consisting of Archer, Andrew, Trinity, Lee, a guy with blue hair, and, to my surprise, Lee and Michael. Looking around, I saw that the crowd had parted, leaving a large circle around all of us.

I sighed, before saying, "Yes, Archer?"

"What?" He replied. "Can a guy not congratulate a band on tricking people into believing that they were good by using special effects without wanting something?"

Kyle glared at him and growled lightly, saying, "Shut the hell up, Archer. Now, what do you want?"

Lee chuckled, before saying, "Aww, is the wittle fox getting angry?"

"Shut the fuck up, you traitorous cunt." Adam retaliated, moving to stand next to me and Kyle. "And, besides, what the hell are you doing with these fucks, anyways?"

"These fucks," Michael intervened, "are our friends, and our band members, you stupid freak."

"What?" Jessica asked, shocked.

"That's right." Archer said, smiling. "They're part of our band now, you little fucks."

"Oh, and what band would that be?" Adam asked.

"Nemesis." Andrew replied, smirking. "And we're twice the band you punks could ever be."

"Oh, I highly fucking doubt that." Ashtynn retorted.

"Really?" Archer questioned. "Then, I assume that you guys would happily have a battle, correct?" He got in my face and said, "Or should I be asking you, as you appear to be the leader of your ragtag group of fuck ups and social freaks."

I looked at the others for support, but their looks told me that he seemed to be right. I had been made the leader, without any discussion, and it was my choice to make.

"I see no reason to do so." I said, calmly. "It seems like a waste of time." Turning to the others, I said, "C'mon, let's go."

Adam looked like he wanted to protest, but he followed me to the door anyway. As we neared it, I heard Archer break into laughter.

"See, that's what I thought." He said. "The little fuck doesn't want to take part in a fight that he knows he'll lose." He laughed some more, before saying , "Yeah, run on home, freakboy."

At this, I froze. I could feel my pulse begin to rise, and I clenched my fists until my nails caused my palms to bleed. I spun around, my anger rising.

"What the hell did you just call me?" I growled out.

Archer laughed, before saying, "It seems that I've struck a chord in the little fucker." He came up to me and got in my face, and said, "What's wrong, freakboy? You don't like being called what you truly are, freakboy?"

In my mind, I knew that it was Archer insulting me, calling me that name, but all I saw and heard was Hades, cackling as he watched me slave away for a fat slob, calling me that name the whole time. Without thinking, I coated my hand in an Iron Claw and rested it against his stomach, causing gasps of shock from everyone close enough to see it, including my friends. Archer let out his own gasp of shock, and I felt him tense up.

"If you want a fight, you insignificant fuck," I said, leaning down slightly to where I was face to face with him, "then you fucking have one. One month from now, November thirtieth. Losers never pick up an instrument again."

Archer smirked at me, and said, "Challenge accepted."

I removed the Iron Claw and whipped around, before leaving the room, without another word. I left the school and began blindly walking, anger and rage coursing through my veins. I found myself somewhere in the woods near the school, but where in them, I didn't know, nor did I care. Letting my anger take control of me, I coated my right hand in an Iron Claw, while I charged an Aura Sphere in my left. I lashed out with my claw randomly, and I felt it connect with a tree next to me, and I let the Aura Sphere loose, and it flew out until it hit a tree a foot or so in front of me, exploding on impact. As the attack made contact and exploded, bark flew everywhere, including at me, and when the smoke cleared the tree was on its side, on the ground. I looked over to see that my claw had dug long gashes into the wood.

"Riku." I heard a voice say behind me.

I turned around to see Jessica, a mixture of fear and worry in her eyes. At this sight, I got rid of the metal coating my hand.

"Hey." I said.

"Hey." She replied, walking closer to me. "So, what was that about?"

I sighed deeply, before dropping to the ground, head in my hands.

"Listen, I'm sorry." I said. "I'm sorry for losing my shit and stalking off. I'm sorry for getting drawn into Archer's trap and putting out whole band on the line. And I'm unbelievably sorry for putting your dream on the line."

I felt my head being lifted up, until I was eye to eye with Jessica, who was kneeling in front of me.

"There isn't anything to be sorry about." She said. "It's alright, trust me."

"But what about your dream of being in a famous band?" I asked. "I mean, my own stupidity just put that at risk."

"Listen to me." She said. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that we're all worried about you. I mean, you sort of just bailed back there."

I sighed, and said, "I'm sorry about that. It's just that fucking name that Archer kept calling me."

"What, freakboy?" She asked me. I flinched slightly and tensed up, and she said, "Sorry."

"It's fine." I said. "It's just that I have some bad memories with that name."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jessica asked me.

"No, I'd prefer not to." I replied.

"Alright." She responded. "Are you going to come back now?"

I sighed, and said, "No, I think that I'll stay in here for a little bit. Give myself some time to calm down."

"Do you want me to stay with you?" She asked me.

"If you want." I replied. "I wouldn't want to impede any celebrations that you have planned with the others."

"Don't worry," she said, sitting down next to me, "it's no trouble."

After a few minutes, I subconsciously felt my head drop down on Jessica's shoulder. I had expected her to push my head off, or request that I move it, but I was surprised when I felt her reach over and run her hand through my fur, petting me slightly. I don't know how long we were there, in the small clearing, but when I finally checked the time I saw that it was four in the morning. I looked over to see that Jessica was still sound asleep on the ground near me. She had fallen asleep an hour or so ago, and when she had, I had pulled the guitar off of my back and began absentmindedly playing it. Swinging the instrument back onto my back, I reached over to Jessica. I shook her lightly, attempting to wake her up, but to no avail. Sighing, I decided to just let her sleep, and I rose from the ground. I bent down to the sleeping Flareon at my feet and slid my hands under her, one under her back and the other at the bend in her legs, careful not to disturb her. I slowly lifted her, before starting back through the trees. I eventually came to the school, which was now empty and dark. I skirted the perimeter and began walking home. On the way, I passed very few people, but the ones that I did see gave me either questioning or curious looks, due to the sleeping Jessica in my arms. When I finally got home, the sun was just beginning to rise above the trees. I entered the house, closing the door with my foot silently. I went upstairs, before entering Jessica's room. I had never been in here before. It was similar to mine, of course, but also had some personal touches. There were posters of different rock bands on the wall, with a few EDM artists scattered in them, as well. I gently sat Jessica down on the bed. Thinking it to be best, I removed her shoes and put her under the blanket, before closing the curtains against the rising sun before I left. I silently closed her door before starting back downstairs.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I was greeted with "There you two are."

I turned towards the living room to see Adam standing there.

"Oh, hey." I greeted.

"Hey." He returned.

"Listen," I said, "I'm sorry about bailing on you guys. I just-"

I was stopped as he put his hand up, saying, "I don't care. That doesn't matter; all that matters is that you guys are back. And, besides, I've learned to not question things involving you."

I nodded, before remembering that I still had Adam's guitar. I took it off, before holding it out to him.

"No man, keep it." He said, refusing the instrument. "You play it better than me, and, besides, I've got more at home." I nodded, and he added, "That, and, you'll need it in a month to teach Archer his place."

I just smiled, before saying, "Right. Thanks."

"No problem, dude." He replied.

I yawned loudly, before saying, "Anyway, I should probably be getting to bed."

He nodded, before saying, "Yeah. And don't worry about breakfast, I'll force Kyle to make it."

I chuckled, before saying, "Night, man."

"Well, really it's morning, but I'll allow it." He replied, causing us both to laugh. "But, yeah, night dude."

I nodded, before heading upstairs. I opened my door to see that Ashley was asleep at the foot of my bed. I took of my boots and slipped under the blanket, too tired to even shower.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interesting ending, isn't it? That pesky little mutt Hades just has to pop up, doesn't he? Well, we'll see how Riku copes with this, shall we? And, for the record, no, I did not plan for the context of this chapter and what today is to align. That is pure luck. I had actually meant to put this up yesterday or the day before, but we had a large storm tear through where I live, so I didn't have power for a fair amount of Wednesday. Yeah, it sucked. Anyway, good bye.


	10. Thanks for Caring for Me

** Thanks For Caring For Me **

I woke up to see a ray of sunlight filtering through my curtains. I sat up, groaning lightly, and looked to the foot of my bed, to see that a certain tan colored fox was missing from her usual spot. I reached over and grabbed my phone from my bed side table, and checked the time. I groaned again, flopping back on my bed.  _It's seriously fucking eight in the afternoon? Arceus, I can't believe that I slept that long. Granted, I was out until who-the-fuck-knows o'clock last night, so I guess that I shouldn't be surprised. Oh, well. Laying here won't solve anything. I need to shower, and then explain what happened last night to the others._ I got up and grabbed some clothes. I went into the bathroom and took a quick shower. When I was done, I left my room, before heading downstairs. I glanced into the living room to see that Adam, Kyle, and Ashtynn were sitting on the couch, watching T.V., while Ashley was curled up on the floor, seemingly asleep.

"Hey, guys." I greeted, as I entered.

All eyes turned to me, and Ashtynn said, "Hey, you're finally up."

Kyle scoffed, and said, "Yeah, took you long enough."

Adam elbowed him, and said, "Give the kid a break. He and Jess didn't get home until, like, four or five in the morning."

"Speaking of her," I said, sitting down next to Ashley, who raised her head up to look at me, before putting it on my lap, where I began petting the Ninetails, "where is she?"

"Still asleep." Adam replied. "But, honestly, I'm curious. Where the hell did you go last night?"

"Yeah, and why did you disappear in the first place?" Kyle added.

"Well, to answer the first question, I went out to the woods." I replied. "And, to the second, let's just keep it at I don't exactly have good memories involving what Archer called me last night."

"What, frea-" Kyle started, but was cut off as Adam elbowed him in the side again.

"Please, just please, don't say it." I said, sighing. "I can't stand to hear it."

"Alright, then." Ashtynn said, sounding slightly confused. "We won't then."

"Thank you." I said, before changing the subject. "So, did I miss anything while I was out?"

"Not necessarily." Kyle replied. "I mean, you missed breakfast, of course, but other than that, you didn't miss anything important."

"Well, then, I guess that that's good." I said, sighing. "Arceus, I still feel so fucking bad about last night, though."

"Why so?" Adam asked me.

"Because I lost my temper and came dangerously close to stabbing Archer in the stomach." I replied. "And then there's also the fact that I may have fucked up Sudden Obsession because of it."

With that, I put my head in my hands, feeling ashamed all over again at my actions. I looked up when I felt a hand touch my shoulder. My eyes fell on the owner of the hand, who happened to be Jessica, who had apparently entered without anyone noticing.

Our eyes met, and I could see a caring light in hers, as she said, "Calm down, Riku. It's perfectly fine, and you mustn't blame yourself."

"She's right." Adam added. "And, besides, it's not like we'll actually lose. I mean, we're all awesome at what we do, and we have you, Riku."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" I asked, confused.

"Well, I mean, we wouldn't exactly be able to perform without you." He answered. "And, besides that, you're pretty much the best member of the band."

"Not really." I replied. "I just play a guitar and yell into a mic. How the hell could I be the best in the band?"

"Dude, shut up." Kyle said. "You are the best, no matter what you say."

I was about to deny it again, but was stopped as the others agreed with them.

I sighed, and said, "Whatever." I stood up, and said, "Now, if you will excuse me, I think that I'm going to go eat. No matter how many times I do it, I still don't enjoy not eating for almost twenty four hours."

"Yeah, I can see that." Ashley said.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Jessica asked me.

"Of course not." I replied.

We left the room, heading for the kitchen.

"So," I said, as we entered the kitchen, "do you want me to cook something, or would you prefer, like, sandwiches or something?"

"It'd be awesome if you could cook something." Jessica replied. "Although, if you don't want to, then you don't have to."

As she was speaking, I had been looking through the different places that we keep the food, only to be disappointed.

"Damn it." I said, as I closed the fridge.

"What's wrong?" Jessica asked me.

"It looks like nothing's getting cooked." I replied. "We don't really have anything that I can cook, honestly."

"What?" She asked me, shocked. "How is that even possible?"

I sighed, and said, "Well, it could be due to the fact that no one has gone grocery shopping in almost a month."

"Oh." She replied. "Right. That may be a contributing factor."

I thought for a second, before saying, "How about this, we could go out and grab a late lunch somewhere, and on the way home we can go grocery shopping?"

"Sounds good." Jessica answered.

We left the room and went into the foyer.

"I'm going to go grab my jacket." Jessica said, heading for the stairs.

I nodded, and said, "Alright, I'll tell the others where we're going."

I poked my head into the living room and said, "Hey, guys, Jessica and I are going to go out to eat, and we'll be going grocery shopping on the way back. Anything that you guys want?"

"No, we're good." Kyle replied, before being agreed with by the others.

"Alright then, see you guys later." I said, before retreating.

I turned around to see that Jessica had returned, her jacket already on her, and mine in her hand.

"Here," She said, handing me my jacket, "I thought that you may want yours, as well."

"Thanks." I replied, accepting the jacket. I put it on, and said, "So, are you ready?"

"Yep." She answered.

We went to the door and I held it open, allowing her to go first.

"Thanks." She said, as I closed the door behind us.

Outside, I could feel a slight bite from the cold weather. I looked to the sky and saw that the sun was behind the trees, causing the brilliant sunrise to cast an orange glow through every gap in the tree's leaves in branches.  _Well, I guess it isn't too shocking that it's slightly cold. I mean, it's getting late in the year, and the sun is going down. Fuck, this is a late lunch._ As we started down the driveway, I chuckled lightly.

"What's so funny?" Jessica asked me.

"How late it is." I replied. "I mean, we could honestly just call this dinner."

"Yeah, I guess." She agreed. "Well, if it is dinner, then what will the others do?"

I shrugged, and said, "I don't know, starve?" We both laughed a little, before I said, "Truly, though, I don't know. I imagine that they'll just order pizza or some shit."

"Yeah, I guess." She replied. She sighed, before saying, "Arceus, I really hate pizza restaurants. It's so greasy and disgusting."

"Then why did we eat so much pizza when I first got here?" I asked.

"Because none of us know how to cook." She answered. She punched me lightly in the side and said, "Or, at least, we thought that none of us knew how to cook."

I laughed and said, "In my defense, no one ever asked me. That is, until Ashley asked me."

"Yeah, I guess that she did take the initiative." She said.

"Yep." I agreed. "Anyway, where exactly are we eating?"

"I'm not too sure." Jessica replied. "Why don't you choose?"

"I would, but, despite the fact that I've lived here since August, I still don't know a lot of places around here." I said. "I mean, the only time I ever leave the house is with you guys, and we normally just go to the skate park or the mall."

"Yeah, I guess that that is true." She said. She thought for a second, before saying, "Well, there is this good burger restaurant that I haven't been to in a while. We could always go there."

"Very well." I said, nodding. "Lead the way."

She nodded, and began guiding us to the restaurant. After a while, we arrived at the mall.

"Um, I thought we we're going to a restaurant." I pointed out.

"The restaurant's in the mall." Jessica replied. "I mean, it's not in the food court or anything, as it is real food."

I chuckled and said, "Hey, don't make me tell Ashtynn that you insulted her employer."

"Oh, be quiet." She said, as we went across the parking lot. "I mean, it's not like she doesn't insult the food here, herself."

I shrugged, and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right." As we entered the mall, I asked, "So, when does the mall even close?"

"Like, midnight, or something like that." She replied. "It used to be much earlier, but they recently changed it for some reason."

"Alright then." I said, as we made our way through the mall. "So, where is this place? I mean, I've been here multiple times, yet I haven't ever seen it."

"That's because it's on the other side of the mall, and the door is outside." She explained.

"That makes no sense." I said. "I mean, wouldn't they get more business if they had a door on the inside, as well, to show that they actually do exist?"

Jessica shrugged, before saying, "Yeah, I imagine. I guess that they either just don't want to do that, or just don't care enough to do it."

"That seems slightly odd." I commented.

She shrugged again, before saying, "Yeah, I guess. But, they have awesome food, so I don't really question it."

We eventually came to the restaurant. We went in, and I saw that it wasn't too packed, as expected. We were almost immediately greeted by a man in what I assume to be a waiter's outfit.

"Hello, and welcome." The man said. "Just two?"

"Yes." I replied.

"Very well." He replied, reaching behind the podium next to him. He retracted his hand, revealing two menus, and said, "Follow me."

The man lead the way through the restaurant, taking us to our table. He sat us down in a booth and gave us our menus, before leaving.

"Well, he certainly seem into his job." I said.

"Yeah, but he's always been that way." Jessica said.

"Always?" I questioned. "How long has been working here?"

"Since the place opened." She replied. "It's actually a family owned restaurant, so they only hire family."

"I guess that I can see how that would be a good idea." I said. "Although, it does sound like it could harm familial relationships."

Jessica shrugged, and said, "I guess. But, to the best of my knowledge, there has yet to be any staff changes, so it appears to be going well."

"True, true." I agreed.

The waiter returned after a few minutes, and we gave him our orders. He picked up our menus, and retreated from the table once again.

"So," Jessica started, "I was thinking that after we eat, we could wander around the mall. Do you want to?"

"Sure." I replied. "I slept all day today, so I will absolutely take this opportunity to be out of the house."

"Agreed." She said. "So, I was actually thinking of a few ways to improve your stage outfit, should you choose to use the one from last night."

"Stage outfit?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah. Y'know, the outfit that you play when we play. We all have one." She explained. "You are going to be using the one from last night, correct?"

I just shrugged, and said, "I guess. Granted, it's nothing more than white dye and spike bracelets, so it's barely an outfit. Although, that does also mean that there is a massive amount of space for improvement."

"Truthfully, though, it was fairly good." Jessica complimented.

"Yeah, well you can thank Ashley for that." I replied. "I'm not quite sure how, but she managed to put it together in only a few minutes."

Jessica laughed, before saying, "Well then, I guess that she truly has a knack for putting together costumes on short notice."

Just then, our food arrived, so we temporarily suspended our conversation until we were alone again. The waiter sat our food down, before leaving.

"Anyway, you're right, she is good at it." I agreed. "But, I do still feel that it could use some improvement."

"And I have a few nice ideas for some improvements." Jessica said, before taking a bite of her burger.

"Quite." I said. Changing the subject, I asked, "So, how have you and Levi been doing?"

"What do you mean?" She asked me.

"Well, he hasn't been around too much recently, and I don't remember seeing him last night." I replied, hoping that I didn't sound as worried as I felt. "I was just curious as to if everything was alright."

"Yeah, everything's fine." She answered. "I mean, he's had a lot more things to do recently, but we still find time to be together."

"Well, that's good." I replied, keeping my voice steady, while I let out an internal sigh of relief. "I'm glad that there haven't been any problems or anything."

"Why would there be?" Jessica asked me, her voice getting shaky, as look of worry suddenly crept onto her face. "What, have you heard something?"

"No, I've heard nothing." I reassured her, having to fight to hold in the truth. "I was just curious is all. I mean, he's had extremely frequent and long practices as of late, and I just wanted to make sure that the lack of time together hadn't affected your relationship."

"Oh." She said, calming down. "Alright then."

 _How odd. She seemed so defensive and worried when I brought that up. Has she had a poor relationship in the past?_ With that, we stopped talking, and we actually began eating. We finished within an hour, and I paid for the food, before we left.

"So," Jessica said, as we stepped outside again, "now, we can get the extra stuff for your outfit."

"Alright then." I said. "Lead the way."

She nodded, and we entered the mall. We wove our way through the horde of people, trying to get to wherever she was leading me.

"Y'know," I said, "I didn't notice it when we first came through here, but there is a surprising amount of people here for it to be ten at night."

"In other places, yeah, probably." Jessica replied. "But not here. Even though this isn't a big city or anything, it's pretty much a city that never sleeps. People are always out somewhere here."

"Once again, another thing that I somehow still haven't discovered, even after living here for so long." I said.

She shrugged, and said, "Well, as you said earlier, you don't commonly go anywhere without us, for some reason."

"Honestly, the main reason that I do that is because being alone sucks." I replied.

"You're not wrong there." She agreed.

We finally made it to the store, which seemed fairly devoid of people.

"C'mon, I know exactly what to get you." Jessica said, leading me through the store. We got to a mirror at the back of the store, and she said, "Wait here. I'll go and get what you'll need."

"Um, okay." I said, as she walked away.

After a few minutes that were spent looking at the nearby rack of shoes randomly, I heard a voice behind me say, "Excuse me, but could I help you find something?"

I turned around to see a Mightyena wearing all black behind me, looking bored as hell.  _I guess that he works here._

"No, I'm not really looking for anything right now." I replied. "I'm actually waiting for a friend. She went to go and grab some clothes."

"Alright then, just tell me if you need anything." He responded. He was about to walk away, when he stopped and said, "Wait, you're Riku, right?"

"Um, yes." I replied, confused. "Do I know you?"

The Mightyena chuckled, before saying, "No, not really." He stuck his hand out and said, "Name's Chris."

I shook his hand and said, "Not to be rude, but how did you know my name?"

"Well, besides the fact that I go to the same school as you, I was at the dance last night." He explained. "I have to say that you guys fucking killed it."

"Oh." I said, surprised. "Um, thanks. I honestly wasn't too sure as to whether or not I was doing as well as I had hoped."

"Trust me, dude, you were." He said. "And if you don't believe me for some reason, I have a fuck ton of people online to back me up."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Have you guys not seen the videos yet?" He asked me. I shook my head, and he pulled out his phone, saying, "You guys are all over the internet."

He pulled up a video online on his phone and showed it to me. I could see that it was our performance last night, specifically during our second song.

"People seriously recorded that and put it online?" I asked, as he put his phone back in his pocket.

"Yep. Hell, last night it looked like everyone in the crowd had a phone out. I'm surprised that you didn't notice it." He said.

I shrugged and said, "Well, I was trying to concentrate on not fucking up the music, so I didn't really have too much time to watch the crowd."

"Well, you absolutely succeeded in that." Chris said. "Everyone online is saying how good you guys were, and how badass the finale was. Speaking of which, how were you able to do that?"

I shrugged again, and said, "It's just a talent. I can control aura more than other Lucarios, which allows me to have it take more shapes than just the standard Aura Sphere attack."

"That's pretty cool." He said.

At that moment, Jessica returned, a bundle of clothes in her arms.

"Alright, this is all of it." She said. She noticed Chris, saying, "Oh. Hello."

"Hey." Chris greeted.

"Did I interrupt something?" Jessica asked me.

"Not necessarily." Chris replied. "We're just talking about your guy's performance last night."

"Oh." Jessica said. "What about it?"

"Y'know, just how awesome you guys were." Chris replied. We heard the sound of a bell ringing in the store, and Chris sighed, before saying, "Damn. Sounds like a customer needs help. Anyway, it was nice meeting you guys." He started walking away, saying, "And good luck against Nemesis later. I know you guys will kick their asses."

When he was out of earshot, Jessica said, "So, who was that?"

"Well, that was Chris." I replied. "He apparently really likes Sudden Obsession."

"Really?" Jessica asked, a hint of joy in her voice.

"Yeah." I replied. "And he's not the only one, apparently."

"What do you mean?" She asked me.

"Apparently a lot of people recorded our performance, and they put it online." I said. "And, well, people seem to love us."

"That's awesome." She said, a wide smile on her face.

"Yeah, it is." I agreed. "Anyway, you have some clothes for me to look at, right?"

"Oh, right." She said. She held the bundle out, and said, "What do you think of this?"

I accepted the clothes and examined them. There was a pair of black combat boots, similar to mine, with a band of spikes a few inches before the toe of the shoes decorating them, a black bandana with the bottom half of a skull on it, and a pair of black jeans, decorated with red stitching and chains.

As I was looking at them, Jessica said, "So, what do you think?"

"Really dark and black, yet still stylish, and only slightly flashy. I like them." I said.

At my words, Jessica's smile grew wider, and she said, "Awesome. I was hoping that you would."

"How about we go and check out and get home?" I suggested. "It's getting late."

"Alright." Jessica said, nodding.

I paid for the clothes and we left the store, before weaving our way through the mall towards the exit. By the time that we got outside, snow had started falling down in sheets.

"C'mon." I urged. "We don't need to be out too late with it snowing like this."

We quickly started towards the house. We had been walking for about ten minutes when I noticed that Jessica had started lagging slightly, and she was shivering horridly. I fell back to where I was walking beside her.

"Not too good with the cold?" I asked.

"N-no." She answered, having to fight her chattering teeth just to answer. "You'd think that me being a fire type would provide some extra heat, but I'm so bad with the cold." Pitying her, I started taking off my jacket, but she said, "No, don't. I can get over it. We don't need you getting sick."

I ignored her and removed my jacket, before throwing it over her. I was immediately bitten by the cold weather, but I ignored it.

"Don't worry." I reassured. "I won't get a cold. I mean, I didn't last time I let you borrow my jacket."

"I guess." Jessica replied, but I could still here the uncertainty in her voice.

I noticed that she was still shivering a fair amount, so I pulled her over to me, in a hug of sorts.

"What are you doing?" She asked me.

"Sharing body heat." I answered.

She just looked up at me, before rolling her eyes. We continued down the street, moving slowly and awkwardly due to our position. We eventually arrived home, and we entered the heated house with sighs of relief. The house appeared to be quiet, signaling that the others had gone to sleep, which Jessica pointed out.

"Well, I guess that we should go to bed, as well." I said, as Jessica gave me my jacket back.

"Yeah, I guess." She agreed.

We both started for the stairs, but before we could reach it, Jessica turned to me, before hugging me.

When we broke apart, I asked, "So, what exactly was that for?"

"It was a thank you." She explained. "A thank you for caring about me so much."

"Oh." I said, slightly shocked. "Well, it's nothing really."

"Still, I wanted to say thanks." She said. "I know how weird it is to be thrown in with a new family so suddenly, and I also know how hard it is to grow to care about the family, yet you seemed to care for us immediately. So, I guess it's a thank you for that, as well."

"Um, alright." I said.

I just stood there, as Jessica continued up the stairs.

When she hit the top, she turned back to me, before saying, "Well, goodnight Riku."

"Yeah, goodnight." I replied, as she went to her room.

* * *

P.O.V Change: Ashley

I continued watching from the blackness of the living room as Riku followed Jessica up the stairs. I let out a deep sigh of sadness.

"Arceus, this sucks." I commented to myself. "It's so obvious that they like each other, and they would make a perfect couple. But I know that Riku would never initiate a relationship; with how he is, someone else would have to do that. Granted, even if he would, Jessica's still stuck dating that scumbag Levi, and there isn't anything that we can do about it." I let out another sigh, before saying, "If only there was some way for them to see the truth about each other."

With that, I leapt back up onto the couch, before curling up to go to sleep.


	11. Blood is Really Hard to Get Out of Fur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick note: all of my stories are taken directly from my main profile, the one over on FFnet, which is why there will be review responses that you won't recognize.
> 
> Hey, guys, I am back with another update.
> 
> So, how has everyone's (due to the fact that it is 8:40 right now) morning been? I don't know, mine's been pretty chill. Stayed up all night playing the Destiny beta, now that it is open to everyone for the weekend (the weekend of 7/24/14, that is) and, I have to say, the game looks pretty nice, even on 360. Then, you know, just played some Hearthstone and listened to the new Crown the Empire album. And, if anyone is curious as to why exactly I'm putting this, I'll tell you. Other than the fact that I actually do like to communicate with you guys and try to talk with you guys however possible, if you guys want to start a conversation, I also feel as if I don't currently interact with you guys enough. I mean, Youtubers and Twitchers can use comments, chat, and Twitter to interact with the people who care about what they do, but I can't completely do that with you guys (other than the whole Twitter thing, as I do actually have one.) So, essentially, I got this odd fixation in my head that some of you guys may view me as.. transparent, I guess. Y'know, as if all I am to you is a name that puts up stories that are read by people, rather than me being a real person. Yeah, I don't know. Hopefully, you guys don't see me as that, but, if you do... STOP. I'm not just a name, I am a person. Anyway... hi. :)
> 
> Anyway, we have a pretty short chapter today, but it is a good one, nonetheless. Although, first, reviews!
> 
> ChronicAsylum: Well, that depends on how you look at it. Are they technically related? Sort of. I mean, I never put shit in here about Maxwell dealing with any paperwork, or anything. So, who knows? Are they blood related? Well, obviously not.
> 
> Wildlian: Thanks for the suggestion, and it really is a good song, but I feel compelled to not use it. The main reason for that would be the fact that that song seems to be slightly heroic, and something that you would expect to play during a video game when you've got the final boss on his last leg. And, well, by now it's pretty obvious that the guys of Nemesis, especially the main trio, are the antagonists, and I just sort of don't feel as if that song would work well for them. Although, I will give you props for your music choice, as well as your game choice. Shadow the Hedgehog was an awesome game, with an amazing soundtrack.
> 
> Most recently reviewed Guest: Fun fact: I now love you. You are the first person, to the best of my knowledge (although, with the stuff that stereotypical people on this site like, you honestly may not actually be the first), to get that reference. That reference actually popped up due to the fact that, at the time of my start on this site, I was starting to watch anime again after stopping for a few years, and one of my friends suggested that, and I fell in love with it.
> 
> Tsuzihri07: Yeah, don't know why it took so long to reply to you, and I apologize for that. Anyway, that is honestly one of my favorite ideas in the world, with one of the reasons being that it brings back a lot of fun memories of perfecting Guitar Hero III... fun fact: never actually did that. Anyway, hope that you are able to read this, and, if so, good luck with what's happening right now. :)

 

* * *

 

** Blood is Really Hard to Get Out of Fur **

I shot up in my bed, a cold sweat drenching my body. All I could hear in my head was that disgusting laugh, the same one that I had to put up with for almost all of my life, and another voice just chanting, over and over again, calling me a freak and a pet. I pressed my ears down on my head, trying to block out the voices. After more than ten minutes of just sitting on my bed, my legs bent with my head resting on my knees, the voices finally seemed to quiet down. Even after my head was clear, I just sat there, breathing heavily. I eventually got up and went into my bathroom. I flipped on the light and looked at myself in the mirror that was over the sink. I saw that sweat was still pouring down my face, somehow missing my eyes, which were wide with fear.

"N-no, calm down, Riku." I tried to reassure myself, panting heavily. "It's not real, it was just a dream."

As I said this, the face of a Houndoom seemed to appear in my mirror, just over my shoulder. Without thinking, I lashed out at the mirror, my fist colliding with it. A loud cracking sound filled the small room, as well as a gasp of pain from me, as the mirror shattered, sending shards of glass into my hand. I retracted my hand to see that glass was sticking out of it in multiple directions, and blood was already seeping from the wounds. At the sight of my hand, I did something I haven't done for months: I cried. I just sunk to the floor, bringing my legs up to my chest, burying my face in my arms, and let the tears flow. I don't know how long I was on the floor, but I eventually fell into an uneasy, dreamless sleep.

* * *

I awoke to feel someone shaking me violently. I opened my eyes to find that I was still on the floor, and that Jessica was crouched next to me, shaking me, a look of worry in her eyes.

She saw that I was awake and stopped shaking me, only to grab my hand, and say, "Arceus, Riku, what happened?"

I looked down at my hand to see that glass shards were still jutting out of my skin; my hand caked in dry blood, with even more still seeping out of the wounds. I looked around the bathroom and saw the broken mirror, a few larger shards of glass still in the frame, and the rest either littering the floor or in the sink. Or, in a few cases, in my hand. I sat there, mouth agape slightly, trying to come up with some excuse, but failing horridly. Jessica sighed at my silence, before rising.

"Wait here." She commanded. "And don't touch your hand."

With that, she left the room. I sighed, putting my head in my hands.  _Arceus, how the fuck am I going to explain this to the others? If I tell them about the reoccurring dream, then they'll want to know why it scared me so much, which will lead to the truth coming out._ This thought brought another shock of fear shooting through me.  _No, damn it. No one is going to find out about that, ever. My life would be ruined if they ever knew the truth. I have to keep it a secret at all costs._ I heard footsteps approaching, bringing me from my thoughts. I looked up just as Jessica reentered; a small first aid box in her hands. She got on her knees next to me, sitting the box down.

"Will you stick your hand out for me, please?" She asked me.

I complied, extending my arm. She opened the box and brought out a pair of tweezers.

She gripped my wrist lightly, bringing my hand closer to her, before saying, "Now, this will hurt a little bit, okay?"

I nodded, and she used the tweezers to grip one of the shards of glass that was stuck in my hand. I braced myself for the pain, just before she pulled on the shard. It came out fairly easily, with no more than a small gasp of pain from me. She opened up the cabinet under the sink and brought out one of the hundreds of small bathroom cups that were under there, cups that I never bothered using. She sat the cup next to her and dropped the shard into it, before gripping another one. We spent the next few minutes on the floor, with Jessica taking the glass out of my hand. When all the shards were out of my hand and in the cup, Jessica dropped the cup into the trashcan.

"Alright," she said, "now, while I go and get the broom, I want you to wash your hand."

I nodded, and she left. I stood up and stood in front of the sink. I turned on the sink and stuck my hand under the cool water. There was a minor jolt of pain that shot through my hand on contact, causing me to tense up slightly. I washed my hand off, getting rid of the blood, turning the water that dropped off of my hand pink. Jessica returned a few minutes later, a broom and dustpan in her hands.

"Here, let me see your hand." She said, sitting what she was carrying on the floor.

I turned the water off and held my hand out to her. She held my hand in hers lightly, inspecting the wounds.

"Alright, this is good." She said. "It looks like none of the cuts are too deep, so we should just have to bandage it up."

She let go of my hand, causing it to fall limply to my side, and picked up the first aid kit. She pulled out a roll of bandages, a small pair of scissors, and a tube of antibiotics. She held her hand out, palm up, and I gave her my hand. She took my hand and covered the wounds in the antibiotics, before beginning to wrap it. When she was done, my hand was completely bandaged up, with the exception of my fingers and thumb, which somehow managed to stay clear of harm.

"Alright," Jessica said, as she cut the bandage, "that should work." She put the medical supplies up, before saying, "So, do you want to tell me what that was about, exactly?"

I sighed, and said, "I would prefer not to, if it is all the same with you."

"Okay, then." She replied, sighing. "I'll drop it on one condition." I nodded, and she said, "Answer one question for me, and I won't bring it up again. Does it have anything to do with the name that Archer called you?"

I froze, my blood turning to ice.  _Does she know? No, no, calm down. It's not possible for her to know, there's no way. Just give her an answer._

I sighed once again, and said, "Yes, yes it does."

Jessica nodded, saying, "Alright then."

She reached for the broom and dustpan, but I stopped her, saying, "I'll handle it. I made the mess, so I'll clean it up."

She nodded again, and said, "Alright, then. When you finish, Maxwell's making breakfast."

I nodded, and she left. I sighed, grabbing the broom. I began sweeping up the glass in silence.  _Arceus, that was too close. Hell, I don't even know how I'll explain the broken mirror and bandages to the others. I really need to get those dreams to stop. I mean, for fuck's sake, it's been going on for a week now. Ever since the concert._ I growled lightly in a mixture of anger and frustration.  _And it's all fucking Archer's fault._ I felt my fists clench tightly around the broom handle, but I quickly calmed myself.  _Stop it, damn it. They aren't the same Houndoom. For Arceus's sake, one's a morph while the other one is just a standard fucking Pokemon._ I sighed as I finished sweeping up the glass. I dumped the contents of the dustpan into the trashcan, before reaching for the mirror frame. As I grabbed it, I saw my reflection in one of the larger remaining shards. My eyes seemed hollow, almost lifeless, and there were bags under my eyes, showing off my lack of sleep. I quickly averted my eyes, not wanting to see the effects that the dream had on me.  _Nor would I like to see my abnormality at the moment._ I dropped the mirror into the trashcan, causing another small shattering sound as some of the shards broke. I grabbed the broom and dustpan and left my room, before heading downstairs. I could distinctly hear Kyle, Adam, Ashtynn, Ashley, Alex, Leo, and Valerie, so I avoided them and entered the dining room. Granted, I need to bring the broom back, anyway, and it's stored in the kitchen. I entered the kitchen to see that Maxwell and Jessica were standing in there. I could feel them watching me as I went over to the small closet where we keep the cleaning supplies, and put the broom up. I turned around to see that they were still watching me intently.

"Yes?" I asked.

"It's nothing." Maxwell answered. "Jessica told me about what happened, and I'm worried about you."

"I'm perfectly fine." I reassured him.

Jessica sighed, and said, "Riku, come on. You and I both know that something's bothering you."

"Relax." I replied. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with me. And, besides, I thought that you weren't going to pry?"

She just shrugged and said, "I never said that everyone else would stay out of it."

I sighed, saying, "Whatever. Trust me, nothing's going on. I'm fine."

I could tell that Maxwell wanted to continue the conversation, but he dropped it without another word, as he turned back to the stove, where he was making bacon. I went over and got some coffee, before leaning up on one of the counters.

"So," Jessica started, "when's the next time that you have to go out of town?"

Maxwell sighed, before replied, "From the twenty-third to the fifth."

"Only two days?" Jessica asked.

"Umm, no." He said, turning to face her. "I won't be gone from the twenty-third to the twenty-fifth. I'll be gone from the twenty-third of November to the fifth of December."

"What?" Jessica said, shocked. "But that means that you'll miss the Battle of the Bands."

"I know." He said.

"But that's not fair." She complained. "I mean, you missed our performance on Halloween. I don't want you to have to miss this one."

"Yeah, I know." He said, sighing again. "Trust me, I don't want to miss it, but it's not like I have a choice."

"I really don't know how you can stand to travel that much." I commented. "I mean, I traveled a fair amount and I hated it, but I'm pretty sure that you've traveled more during the time that I've lived here than I ever have in my life."

Maxwell just shrugged, and said, "Truly, you really just get used to it."

"Not really." I heard Jessica say quietly.

"What?" Maxwell asked her, having not heard what she said.

"Nothing, nothing." Jessica said, beginning to head for the door. "I'm gonna go and change clothes, now."

I watched her as she passed me, going out the door, and I could have sworn that I saw a few tears starting to fall from her eyes.

"Alright, then." Maxwell yelled after her. "Breakfast will be done soon." As I heard her start up the stairs, Maxwell said, "She seemed slightly off, somehow. I wonder what's bothering her."

I just scoffed lightly, shaking my head.

"What?" He asked me. "Do you know something that I don't?"

"Well, it's honestly fairly obvious, even to me." I replied. "And, trust me; I'm not too good at picking up on subtle hints."

"Well, then, what is it?" He asked me.

I sighed, and said, "It's you." He looked at me, confused, so I continued, "You took both her and Kyle in when they had nowhere else to go. You've given her more than she ever could have hoped to have in her life, and allowed her to have friends and get on the path to accomplishing her dream. After doing all of this, she sees you as not only her father, but the best father that she ever could have been given, and it breaks her heart whenever you have to leave, and it absolutely crushes it when your job keeps you from going out and seeing her doing what she loves to do. She hates the fact that you can't be there, in the crowd, to watch her, along with the rest of the band, kick ass and melt faces; to see her live and feel the sense of pride that she strives to give you. Essentially, every single time that you have to leave for weeks at a time, she dies a little inside."

When I finished, Maxwell was staring at me, a blank look on his face. I just sighed, before leaving the room. I went to the living room, where I saw the others watching  _Black Butler_ on T.V. I saw that the couch had Kyle, Valerie, and Ashtynn were taking up the couch, with Adam in one of the two armchairs, and Leo in the other, with Alex on his lap, and Ashley lying in the floor.

"Hey." I greeted, joining Ashley on the floor, sitting with my legs crossed.

They all returned the greeting, except for Adam, who looked at me, before asking, "Holy shit, dude. What happened to your hand?"

I looked down at the bandages and chuckled, before saying, "A mirror."

"What?" Adam said, confused.

"I punched a mirror." I calmly said, taking a sip of my coffee.

"Why the hell did you that?" Alex asked me.

As I didn't have an actual excuse, I just shrugged and said, "I don't know."

Valerie sighed, and said, "That doesn't really seem like a good reason."

I shrugged again, and said, "Well, that's the only one that I have to give."

"Well, will you still be able to play with your hand like that?" Kyle asked me.

"I don't see any reason why not." I replied. "I mean, it's not like I truly hurt my fingers, or anything. Granted, the large usage of my hand, as well as the increased movement, required to play a guitar may hamper the healing process of my hand, but that is really the only foreseeable issue."

"Yeah, I guess." Leo agreed. "Although, I would advise against doing too much with that hand until it heals."

"Leo, you're talking to the guy who did a back flip only a week after falling down a twenty foot drop." Kyle pointed out. "The dude doesn't seem to give a shit about personal health."

"Well, I wouldn't say that." I interjected. "But, I mean, I won't let minor injuries such as that stop me from doing what I do."

"How are either of these two injuries minor?" Leo asked me.

I shrugged, and said, "Well, I didn't die, I didn't lose any limbs, and I didn't break anything, therefore, they are minor."

Leo just sighed, and said, "I'm pretty sure that that isn't a very efficient way to classify the severity of an injury."

"Alright then," I replied, "what would you classify as serious?"

"Oh, y'know, things such as falling down twenty feet and getting shards of glass stuck in your hands." He replied.

"Well, I guess that that would be where we differ, now isn't it?" I said, taking another sip of my coffee.

"Yes, I guess so." He replied, sighing again.

"You two can be slightly stubborn sometimes, y'know that, right?" Ashtynn pointed out.

I just shrugged, but Alex chimed in with, "Yeah, sometimes I wonder whether or not those two would make a better couple than us." Leo and I both glared at him, so he threw his hands up defensively, and said, "I'm just kidding. Arceus, you two can't take a joke."

"I'm pretty sure that we may have to kill you for that joke." Leo said. "Riku, what say you?"

"Well, that depends." I replied. "How brutal will it be? I mean, I know a thing or two about dismemberment."

"Nah, I wasn't thinking of doing that." He answered. "Too much blood. Maybe just a simple stab, or something."

"Alright." I said. "Just as long as we do it after breakfast. Blood is really hard to get out of fur, and I really don't feel like messing around with that right now."

Leo sighed, defeated, and said, "Fine, I guess that it can wait. You're probably right about the fur, anyway."

By now, everyone else in the room was staring at us, including Jessica, whom had entered during the conversation, with confused, shocked, and slightly scared looks.

"What?" I asked them, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you guys were just having an in depth conversation about the best way to murder Alex," Ashley replied, "and we find that slightly odd."

"Why?" Leo asked. "Do you guys seriously think that we'd kill him? Hell no, I love the kid too much."

"Besides," I added, "chopping off limbs is an extremely messy process, and it isn't exactly easy with a kitchen knife."

Now, everyone's eyes, including Leo's, fell on me.

Alex opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by Maxwell yelling, "Kids, breakfast!"

"Well, it appears that it's time to eat." I said, rising. "Shall we?"

And, with that, I left the room.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, I told you that it would be a short chapter. Hey, at least I gave you a fair warning, so there's that. Anyway, don't worry, as the next two chapters will be fun. They have action, music, hookers, and blackjack... okay, not the last two. Sorry. Anyway, I hope that you guys enjoyed this little insight into how Archer has effected Riku's mental state, and nice little jokes about dismemberment.. for the record, I never once thought that I would write that sentence.
> 
> Anyway, I have a small favor I would like to ask of you guys. So, I recently put up my new story, the AO3 exclusive, and it appears that it is falling under, what appears to be, the unspoken rule of AO3. Which is, if it isn't porn, no one fucking cares. Like, seriously, it's been up for, like, a week, and has five hits, and has had five for the past three or four days. Now, I know that some stories don't actually fit everyone's genre, so I understand that, but it honestly seems to be that any story on AO3 that doesn't contain sex within the first two or three chapters, just doesn't very many views. So, I'd be grateful if you guys could go and at least check out the summary of it in my FFnet bio, and, if it piques your interest, it'd be awesome if you would check it out.
> 
> Anyway, before I go, let me say something. I wasn't joking about wanting to communicate with you guys more. Trust me, I have, like two or three friends in all, so I'm pretty much always free to just chat online if anyone ever wants to. Although, I am occasionally doing things, which may prevent me from replying to people. Yeah, I know that I'm probably annoying you guys with this, and I apologize, but I'm now stuck with the morbid fear that I'm just a name to you guys, and nothing else. *Sigh* Yeah, I know, it's stupid. But, if you ever do want to chat about random shit, or just ask me random questions, just Google my handle, and pretty much no matter what you pull up, it'll most likely be me. Trust me, no one is stupid enough to misspell "Hylian" like I am. Yes, that is how I got the name, and I've just kept it forever. Get over it.
> 
> So, now that I've finished all of that long-winded bullshit, this will be the actual outro. So, don't forget that you can still submit songs to me, for at least a week or two, maybe longer, depending on if I suddenly get hooked on writing another story. So, yeah, there's that. Anyway, bye guys.


	12. How the Hell are you Still Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, are you guys mad at me yet? I mean, it's been, what, four days since I put up Ashes to Ashes and I still have yet to even start chapter two. Granted, I've probably spoiled all of you guys with my rapid updates, rather than doing what most authors do, by updating, like, once a month, if that. Anyway, let's go, shall we?

 

* * *

 

** How the Hell are You Still Alive?   
**

I was sitting at my computer, just listening to music and playing Hearthstone, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped slightly, turning around, but I calmed down upon seeing a black Absol behind me.

I took off my headphones, and said, "Arceus, Adam, you scared the hell out of me."

"Yeah, I could tell." He replied. Noticing the empty coffee cup on my desk, he said, "How long have you been up?"

I chuckled nervously, before saying, "Um, all night."

"What?" He asked, shocked. "Why the hell have you been up all night?"

I just shrugged, and said, "I couldn't sleep."

"Really?" He replied, the sarcasm obvious in his voice. "Well, could that have had something to do with the caffeine running through your blood currently?"

"Um, maybe." I answered.

He sighed, and asked, "How much coffee have you even had?"

"Three pots." I mumbled.

"What?" He asked. "I didn't hear you."

"Th-three pots." I replied nervously.

"What?" He asked, this time sounding rather outraged. "How the hell are you still alive?" I just shrugged, and he said, "Damn it. I guess that it's good that we're having that talk with you today."

"What?" I asked, curious.

He just sighed in return, and grabbed my arm, saying, "Let's go."

He then pulled me out of my chair, causing my headphones to be ripped away from my neck.

"What the hell?" I said, tripping slightly as we moved towards my door. "C'mon, I'm fighting a fucking Priest. Do you know how annoying those guys are without being dragged away from the computer?"

"Yeah, and I don't really give a fuck right now." He said, swinging my door open and pulling me out. As we headed towards the stairs, he said, "We need to have a talk."

He managed to drag me downstairs, somehow keeping me from falling when I tripped, and brought me to the dining room. Upon entering, I immediately noticed that Maxwell, Ashtynn, Kyle, Ashley, and Jessica were all gathered in there, worried looks on their faces. Adam released me, going over to the other side of the table to sit with the others.

"Um, hey." I greeted awkwardly. "So, why are we all in here?"

"Because, Riku, we need to have a talk." Ashtynn replied.

"A talk?" I asked. I suddenly knew what they meant, and I said, "Wait, like an intervention?" I scoffed, and said, "Fuck this, I'm not in the mood for this."

I turned to leave, but the door was suddenly blocked by Alex and Leo.

"You're not going anywhere." Alex said.

"Riku, just sit down." Leo said. "It'll make it easier on us."

I turned my head around and saw that Valerie was standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"How the hell did I not notice you when I came in?" I asked, confused.

"It doesn't matter." Leo replied. "Now, sit down."

"Or what?" I asked, laughing. "You both know that I can take you in a fight."

"Riku, please, just sit down." I heard Jessica say. "We care about you, and that's why we need to have this talk."

I looked at her, and I could tell in her eyes that she wasn't lying. I just sighed, and went over to the table, and sat down.

"Okay, I'm sitting." I said. "Now, speak."

Maxwell sighed, and said, "Listen, Riku, recently we've noticed a change in how you've been acting, and we don't really like it."

"Yeah." Ashtynn continued. "I mean, you're less social, more short tempered, and it doesn't look like you've been sleeping as much as you should. We care about you, and we're worried about your well being."

"C'mon man, what's been bothering you?" Kyle asked. "You just seem so stressed as of late."

"Nothing's bothering me, guys." I answered. "I'm perfectly fine."

"C'mon, Riku," Adam said, "we all know that that's bullshit. No matter what people say to us, we are intelligent, and we do pay attention."

I just sighed, and Jessica asked, "Riku, just tell us, please. Or does it have to do with your past again?"

Everyone looked at her, and I just gritted my teeth, and said, "Yes, it does. Are you guys happy now?"

"No, not until you tell us what specifically." Ashley said.

I sighed, and said, "Well, I can't do that."

"Why not?" Adam asked. "Why won't you just tell us what's wrong?"

"Because you don't need to know." I replied, growing annoyed.

"If it's bothering you, than we do need to know." Maxwell said. "So just tell us."

"C'mon, man," Kyle said, "just tell about your past and we can help you get through whatever's happening."

"No." I replied, simply.

"Why the hell not?" Adam asked. "Why can't you just tell us about your past?"

"Because no one can know what I've done!" I shouted, slamming my fist on the table, causing multiple splinters to fly out. They all watched me, shocked, as I stood up and said, "I'm done with this conversation."

I started for the door, but Leo moved in front of me.

"Leo, move." I growled out.

"No." He replied, glaring up at my slightly taller height. "We aren't done here."

"Move, now." I commanded. "Before I have to do something that I don't want to." He just stood his ground, so I growled out, "I warned you."

I brought my open hand back and slammed it into his stomach, hitting him with a Force Palm. The force of the impact sent the Jolteon flying back into the wall, where he slumped down, unconscious. Alex starred at me, shocked, before rushing over to his boyfriend and bending down, worried. I just stalked over to the front door and swung it open.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Kyle asked me, entering the room.

"Out." I replied, leaving and slamming the door shut behind me.

I went out into the blizzard that had started overnight, and left the property.

* * *

I was just sitting on the roof of some random warehouse or factory, I couldn't remember which on.  _Like it fucking matters._ I sat there, watching the sun set from under my hood, as snow swirled around me.

"Hey." I heard a voice say.

I looked over, to see a familiar Mightyena standing a few feet away, his own hood up against the snow.

"Hey." I greeted.

Chris came over to me and sat down, and said, "So, I heard that you stormed out of your house today." I didn't reply, so he continued, "Heard that they asked you about your past."

I chuckled, and said, "You sure do hear a lot, don't you?"

"Maybe so." He replied, shrugging. "So, you wanna tell me why you left? Or why you won't tell them what they want to know?"

I just stared down at my feet, absentmindedly forming an Iron Claw on my hand, and said, "Because they can never know what I've done. No one can."

"So, it was that, huh." He said knowingly. "Been a few years since I've had to spill blood." I looked at him, shocked, and he said, "What, do you think that you're the only homeless kid out there that's had to kill to stay alive?"

"You're homeless?" I asked.

"Yep." He replied, nodding. "Most of my life."

"So, you've had to do it, as well?" I asked.

He nodded again, and said, "It was me or them. I chose the former."

We just sat in silence for a little bit, watching the snow fall.

"Hey, listen," Chris said, breaking the silence, "I doubt that you feel like facing your family right now, so, do you wanna stay with me for a little while?"

"Really?" I asked. He nodded, and I said, "Thanks."

We stood up and went over to the fire escape that we had used to get up her. We climbed down, and Chris began leading me through alleyways until we came to a large, multilevel warehouse. He opened the door, eliciting a small creak, and we entered, providing cover from both the snow and cold.

"This is your home?" I asked, as we started up a set of stairs.

"Yep." He replied, as we entered a room.

Inside was a backpack, a sleeping bag, and a small ring of stones with a pyramid of sticks inside of it.  _A fire pit, I assume._

"Welcome to my humble abode." Chris said dramatically.

We went over to the small fire pit and sat down. He seemed to focus on the sticks for a few seconds, before opening his mouth and shooting out an Incinerate, which hit the sticks, setting them alight.

"So, you hungry?" He asked me. I shook my head, and he said, "C'mon man, we both know that you haven't eaten today. Just eat something."

He pulled his bag over to him and opened it, before digging around in it. He eventually pulled out two small cans of beans, before sitting them on the floor. He zipped his bag up, before using his canines to make a small hole in the top of each can. He then opened up another pocket on his bag and pulled out a small pan. He dumped the beans into the pan, before holding it over the fire.

"So," he started, "do you wanna talk about what happened?"

"Not necessarily." I replied.

"C'mon," he pressed, "I'll tell you mine."

I sighed, and caved, "Fine. You first, though."

"Alright then." He said, sighing. "Well, I was thirteen, so it was five years ago. I was scrounging around in an alley for some food, when a group of guys surrounded me. They pulled some weapons on me, but before they could do anything, I acted on instinct. I leapt at the leader and nailed his throat with a crunch. Before they could get over their shock, I dashed away, leaving them behind." He checked what he was cooking, before saying, "Now you."

I sighed, before beginning, "Do you remember, earlier this year, a news story came out about a guy and his Houndoom being murdered in his house in the mountains near here?"

"Yeah, of course." He replied. "The Houndoom was decapitated, his body hung above the front door and his head in the bed with the guy. Most of the house was burnt to a crisp by the time anyone got there, and the fire department had a hell of a time preventing a forest fire. Gruesome shit, and they never caught the murderer. Why?" I just looked at him, raising an eyebrow, and he said, "Wait, that was you?" I nodded, and he said, "Holy shit, dude. I don't think that I feel safe being near you, anymore."

"Relax." I reassured him. "I only did it because the bastard deserved it. And, besides, had I not, I wouldn't be here today."

"Well, how about you explain that while we eat?" He said. "Foods done."

I nodded, and he pulled two small wooden bowls, as well as two wooden spoons, from his bag. He sat them down and divided the beans between them, before giving me one.

"Thanks." I said, as he picked up his own.

"No problem." He replied, taking a bite of his food. "Now, continue."

I sighed again, and picked the story back up, "Well, it started eleven years ago, when I was six. I was with my horrid excuse for bigot parents, having just sat down for dinner after taking one of my daily beatings. Suddenly, the door was kicked open, and a masked man came in. He killed my parents, before knocking me out. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in his mansion in the mountains. He forced me to be his slave for ten years, doing anything that he and his Houndoom, Hades, wanted." At this point I could feel myself tearing up slightly, but I pushed onward, "He starved me, he over worked me, h-he raped me." I stopped for a second to wipe some tears from my eyes, before continuing, "So, I did what I had to. I snuck into his room at night and killed him. I then killed Hades, before burning the place."

As I finished, I felt Chris move over and wrap his arms around me in a reassuring hug.

After a few seconds of calming me down, Chris said, "So, that's what's been bothering you?"

I nodded, and replied, "Yeah. It was Archer. When we ran into him, he called me that horrid name. Freakboy. That was Hades favorite insult to me, and when he said it, that was all I saw. Hades, just laughing at me, calling me freakboy, while I worked for his master."

"It's alright." Chris said, petting my head reassuringly. "Those two are dead now, they can't hurt you. And, besides, if they could, they'd have to go through me, as well as your family."

I chuckled, and said, "If they still want to claim me. I mean, I hurt Leo, before storming out."

"They still want you." Chris said. "I promise you that."

After a few more minutes, Chris let go of me, and I said, "I'd appreciate it if we could keep this conversation a secret."

"Of course." He replied. "I know how these things are."

"Thanks." I said.

As we started eating again, Chris asked, "So, do you guys know what four songs you're playing next weekend?"

"Yeah, we've pretty much got it settled." I replied, taking a bite of my food. "Wanna see?"

"Sure." He replied.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and pulled up the list. I passed my phone to him, and looked at it.

"Y'know," he said, passing my phone back, "I could help you guys actually be more live on the last song, if you're alright with getting me the equipment."

"Really?" I asked. "How so?"

"Well, you guys need a keyboardist." He explained. "And, at a point in my life, while I was living with a foster family, I became more than adept with a keyboard. So, if you are alright with buying me a board, than I can make the song sound even better. Or, I hope so, at least."

"That'd be awesome." I replied. "I'll even pay for the board from my own pocket."

He chuckled, and said, "Don't you, like, get an allowance from Maxwell, though?"

I shrugged, and said, "It's the thought that counts, right?"

He laughed, before agreeing, "Yeah, I guess that it is. Honestly, though, tomorrow morning you need to go back and patch things up."

I sighed, and said, "Yeah, I know. I just hope that they'll accept me back."

"They will, trust me." Chris said. "Now, how about we get some sleep?"

I nodded, and passed the Mightyena my empty bowl.

He chuckled, before saying, "Not hungry, my ass."

"Oh, shut up." I said, lying down on the floor.

"Y'know, you can take the bag if you want to." He said. "I mean, I've slept on the bare floor before."

"No, it's yours, you take it." I replied. "Besides, I get to sleep on an actual bed every night, anyway."

"Alright then." He said, going over to his sleeping bag.

He got in it, sinking beneath the material.

"G'night, Riku." He said.

"Yeah, night." I replied.

Chris fell asleep within minutes, made apparent by a sound of light snoring filling the room, but I stayed up for a while, deep in thought.

* * *

I don't quite know when I had fallen asleep, but the next thing I knew, I was being shaken awake. I opened my eyes to see that Chris was kneeling down in front of me, shaking my shoulder.

"Alright, you're awake." He said, standing. "Good."

"Yeah." I agreed, rising.

"C'mon, breakfast is ready." He said, gesturing to the pan.

We ate a breakfast of a few cans of beans, with a slice of stale bread each. When I was done, I handed my bowl back to him, rising.

"So, I guess that you are going to head back now." He said, looking at the floor.

"Yeah, I guess." I replied.

"Well, alright then." He said, sounding rather sad. "It was nice having the company. See yah."

Pitying the Mightyena, I said, "Hey, Chris." He looked up at me, and I sighed, before saying, "Listen, I can't promise anything, but maybe, just maybe, I could convince Maxwell to let you stay, should he actually take me back."

A smile spread across the canine's face, and he asked, "Seriously? Do you think he'd let me live with you guys?"

I shrugged, and said, "I don't see why not. I mean, we have a spare room, as well as a couch. And, if that fails, I could share my room. That, and you did help convince me to go back to them."

Chris suddenly wrapped me in a hug, chanting, "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much."

He released me, and I said, "No problem. But, as I said, I can't make any promises."

"Even if I can't stay, it's still the thought that counts." He said.

"Alright, well, pack up and let's get going." I said.

He nodded eagerly, and had his stuff packed up and the fire put out within two minutes. We left the warehouse and started back home, snow falling slowly as we went. It took us about to ten minutes to get back to the house, and we nervously approached the front door. I knocked three times, and we waited. After a few minutes, the door was opened by an Eevee.

Noticing us, Maxwell said, "So, I see that you have returned." Glancing back at Chris, he added, "And you brought a friend."

"May we come in?" I asked.

"You live here; there is no need to ask." Maxwell replied, moving aside.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I stepped inside.  _So, he will allow me to come back._ When he shut the door, I turned to face him, Chris at my side.

"So, where are the others?" I asked.

"Everyone is still asleep." Maxwell replied. "Leo, Alex, and Valerie stayed the night. They still helped look for you, even Leo, after what you did to him. They do care about you, y'know."

I sighed, and said, "Yeah, I know. Listen, I want to apologize for-"

But I was cut off as Maxwell held his hand up.

"I'm not the one that you need to apologize to." He said. "You need to apologize to Leo, for hurting him. And you need to apologize to Jessica, for scaring her by leaving."

"Sh-she was scared?" I asked, shocked.

"Of course." Maxwell replied. "When we couldn't find you, she got scared for you, and worried about you. It took multiple hours for myself and Kyle to calm her down enough to where she could sleep."

"Oh." I said guiltily, staring the floor.

"Although," Maxwell said, getting my attention, "I am the one that you need to explain your friend to."

I sighed, looking up, and said, "Well, this is Chris, my friend. He found me sitting on a roof, and he convinced me to come back, and let me stay the night with him in the abandoned warehouse that he's been living in."

"And you were hoping that we could take him in, right?" Maxwell asked.

"Um, yeah, sort of." I replied, nervously.

There was a minute or so of silence, which I spent fearing the worst, until Maxwell said, "Very well. I remember you mentioning him before, and you appear to trust him, so he may stay." A smile spread across my face, and Maxwell added, "But only if you apologize to the others and stay on your best behavior."

"Of course." I said, at the Eevee.

"Very well then." Maxwell said, nodding. "Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to go and wake the others, as breakfast is done. Chris, you may get settled in after we eat."

As soon as Maxwell went upstairs, Chris wrapped me in another hug.

"Holy shit, man. Thank you so much." He said. "I can't believe that I actually have a home now."

"Yeah, I'm glad for you, man." I replied. "Now then, how about we go and get some coffee?"

"Dude, it's been years since I had coffee." The Mightyena said, his smile widening. "You just read my fucking mind."

"So, if you had a job, why did you never get coffee?" I asked him, as we went into the dining room.

"Well, I was more focused on stuff like normal food and clothes." He replied.

"Oh? So, what of the phone?" I asked.

He chuckled, and said, "Yeah, I've had that thing for years, really. I just hang onto it as a way to get access to the internet, if I can find an open connection, and an alarm clock. That thing was active for, like, a few months, before I was kicked out of that home."

"So, did they just stop paying the bill, or something?" I asked, as we entered the kitchen.

"Well, when you die of a heart attack, it's fairly difficult to pay anything, save for the toll on Styx." He replied, as I got the stuff needed to make our coffee.

"Oh." I replied, awkwardly. "I'm sorry."

He just shrugged, and said, "Don't worry about it. As I said, I only knew her for about three months, and I didn't really enjoy the time there. She was nice enough, but only to me. She hated pretty much everyone else there."

"Any reason why?" I asked him, getting his coffee.

"Well, I was the only guy there that was above twelve, so I had some thoughts about what she wanted." He answered.

"Yeah, because that's not illegal, or anything." I said sarcastically.

"Absolutely." He replied, as I gave him his drink. "Because statutory rape is only a myth."

I laughed, and said, "Yep, just like bigfoot, or logical thinking."

"Of course." He replied, as we reentered the dining room.

Having a sudden thought, I went over to the dining room table. I set my coffee on it, before getting on it, sitting cross legged.

"Um, what are you doing?" Chris asked me.

"I am going to make the apology more dramatic." I replied.

"Aren't you dirtying the table?" He asked me.

I shrugged, and replied, "I clean my shoes."

He just sighed, and said, "Whatever."

He sat down in a seat, just waiting with me. After a few minutes, everyone entered the room. Their eyes fell on Chris and I.

"You're back." Jessica said. "And you brought Chris."

I nodded, and said, "Yes. I would like to apologize for my behavior yesterday. And, Leo, I would like to apologize for knocking your ass out."

He just shrugged, and said, "All you gave me was a small headache, so we're all good."

I nodded, and looked to the others. They all gave sounds of agreement, and I nodded to them, as well.

"So, Chris, why exactly are you here?" Jessica asked.

I answered, saying, "Because, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you the newest member of our odd little household of misfits. Chris."

"Wait, you're moving in?" Jessica asked, shocked.

"Well, yeah." Chris replied. "I mean, I haven't had a home since I was a little kid, and Riku convinced Maxwell to allow me to stay. So, yeah, I guess."

As the others began to sit down, and I got off of the table, Adam asked, "So, I have a question. Riku, I know that you don't want to go too deep into it, nor do I, for fear of another incident like yesterday, but do you at least know how to stop whatever's been messing with you?"

A wide grin spread across my face, and I said, "Oh yeah. I know exactly how to deal with it."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! Chapter! It's eight in the morning, but I updated. Yeah, I don't know. How about the introduction of Chris as a new main character? Anyone like his story?
> 
> So, fun fact, there was actually a small detail in this chapter that is hinting at events to come. Can you find it? I don't know, we'll see. Seriously, if you somehow discover what the hint is, I'll actually congratulate you next chapter. Same thing if you can discover what the song that I was talking about in this chapter is. Here are some hints: it uses a keyboard, it's by one of my top five bands on my profile, it's off of the band's second album, the lead singer has the same name as one of the characters of this story, and the lyrics would have a strong meaning to the group. So, if anyone discovers that stuff and leaves it in a review, I shall congratulate you in the next chapter. Granted, I doubt that the congratulations of an almost sixteen year old (less than a month away. Granted, I don't really care, except that I will be getting a job when I turn sixteen.) goth emo kid will mean anything to you, but, if it does, go ahead. I mean, I guess that it'd be an interesting way to get me to give you a shout out if you write stories, but that's about it.
> 
> So, until next time, good morning!


	13. Lots and Lots of Glow Sticks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the fourth chapter of my Update Marathon. I took a couple hours to have a break, slept a little, and ate a piece of bread. Yeah, that's all that I've eaten today, and it's eight p.m. Yep, I'm smart. Now, let's go!

 

* * *

 

**Glow Sticks. Lots and Lots of Glow Sticks**

Chris and I left my room, closing the door behind me.

"Alright," I was saying, "so, I was actually looking at local places, and I ended up finding somewhere where I can get your keyboard here, rather than having to order it and hope that it gets here in the next three days."

"Awesome." He said, as we started downstairs. "That means that I actually will be able to help you on Saturday."

"Indeed it does." I replied. "I already asked for the guy to reserve it for me, we just have to go and pick it up."

"Cool." He commented. "Listen, I just want to thank you again, man. I mean, you've taken me in and given me the first place that I enjoy living in years."

"Don't mention it." I said, as we hit the foyer. "I'm just helping out a friend."

"Still." He insisted. "It's the best thing that anyone ever has or ever could do for me."

I just shrugged as we entered the dining room. I looked and saw that the normal crew in the house was already sitting at the table.

"Morning." Adam greeted us as we entered.

"Yo." I returned, as Chris and I went over to the table.

"You're looking a lot better." Ashtynn commented. "Less bags under your eyes."

I shrugged, and said, "I've been sleeping somewhat better. Not that I'm asking for my sleep schedule to revert to its previous state of fucked."

"Yeah, a fucked sleep schedule is fairly ill advised." Adam replied. "Although, it has helped me every now and then."

"How?" I asked.

"Foster homes are atrocious during the day time when there are nine other kids living there." He explained.

"You're not wrong on that one." Chris agreed. "Especially when the oldest one other than yourself is only ten."

"Wow." I commented. "I am fucking glad that I have always lived on the streets." I paused for a second, before saying, "Yeah, never thought that I would say that."

Adam shrugged, and said, "Well, that would have been the better alternative, in all honesty."

"Anyway," I said, "Chris, want me to get you some coffee, as well?"

"Yeah, thanks." The Mightyena replied, sitting down next to my seat.

I left the room, and entered the kitchen. In there, I found Maxwell and Ashley, speaking in hushed whispers.

"What's up?" I asked, as I entered.

They both jumped slightly, before noticing me standing in the doorway.

"Oh, morning, Riku." Maxwell greeted.

"Um, morning." I replied. "So, what was all of the whispering about?"

"Whispering?" Ashley replied frantically. "No one was whispering. You must be hearing things. Have you been sleeping well?"

"Yeah, perfectly fine, actually." I replied curiously. Deciding to drop the subject, I said, "What the hell ever. I'm just gonna grab our coffee and get out."

"Okay, have fun." Maxwell replied.

I just sighed, beginning to get our coffee.  _What the hell are they hiding so poorly?_ I quickly made our drinks, before returning to the dining room.

"Thanks." Chris said, as I handed his cup to him.

"Yep." I replied, sitting down in my seat. "So, any plans for today?"

Everyone gave various renditions of 'no', and Kyle asked, "You?"

"Yeah, I need to go and pick up Chris's keyboard." I replied. "He needs to get used to it and learn the parts before Saturday."

"Yeah, that'd be advised." Kyle said.

"Hey, Chris, you wanna come?" I asked him.

He and Kyle exchanged glances, before the Mightyena replied, "No thanks. I've got some stuff that I need to do."

"Um, okay." I said, confused. "Anyone else?"

"Hey, Jess, what about you?" Ashtynn suggested.

"Huh?" The Flareon asked, shooting her head up from her hand. "What?"

"Do you want to go with Riku to pick up Chris's keyboard after breakfast?" Adam asked.

"Oh. Um, sure." She replied. "I mean, I don't really have anything planned."

"Alright then." I replied.

 _What the hell is with everyone today? Jessica and I seem to be the only normal ones. Or, well, normal by our standards._ At this point, Maxwell and Ashley came in, holding plates of food. They sat down, passed out the food, and we all began eating. After the quick breakfast, Jessica and I went upstairs to grab our jackets, before meeting in the foyer.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Yeah." She replied distractedly.

I held the door open for her as we stepped out into the snow fall. As we started down the driveway, I glanced over at Jessica, and noticed that she wasn't paying too much attention to where she was walking, almost bumping into me a few times, and that she appeared to be deep in thought.

"Something bothering you?" I asked.

"What?" She asked, looking up from the ground.

"I asked if something's bothering you." I repeated. "You seem really distracted today."

"It's nothing." She replied, waving it off.

"C'mon," I pressed, "you can tell me."

She sighed, before saying, "I just feel like there's something that I'm forgetting. I just don't know what it is."

"Well, did you forget to do something that's really obvious?" I asked. "Y'know, did you brush your teeth, shower, all of that stuff?"

"Of course." She replied. "Why, do you think that I smell?"

"No, of course not." I quickly answered. "Trust me, you smell beautiful."

At this, we both froze.

"What?" She asked me.

"Um, nothing." I replied. "Don't worry about it." As we started walking again, I said, "Well, you could always just take my tactic for remembering something."

"Which is?" She asked.

"Just don't worry about it." I replied. "Go about your day as usual. If you remember it, then okay. If not, then it probably wasn't important anyway."

She shrugged, and said, "Yeah, you're probably right. So, where are we going?"

"Well, we left to go and pick up Chris's keyboard," I replied, "but, I wouldn't say no to just taking a day off from everything and just hanging out."

"Let's do it." The Flareon said, nodding. "It has been really stressful as of late, as we've had to deal with planning and practicing for the Duel, as well as…"

She trailed off towards the end, and I said, "Go ahead. You were about to bring up my bullshit recently. You're completely right; it has been putting a lot of stress on all of us."

"Well, yeah, kind of." She replied nervously. "But, I mean, we can't really blame you, as you seem to have a serious reason for it happening."

"Still, that's no excuse for what I've put you guys through." I countered. "And I'm grateful to you guys for putting up with all of my bullshit."

"It's perfectly fine." She reassured me. "Even Leo understands, and you almost cracked the wall with his back."

I chuckled lightly, and said, "Yeah, didn't mean to do that. I'm still pissed at myself for allowing my anger to take control of me."

"It's alright." She said, stopping a giving me a reassuring hug, shocking me. "We know that that isn't how you normally are, and we're just thankful that you're more or less back to normal."

"Th-thanks." I replied, hugging her back. We broke apart rather awkwardly, and I said, "Anyway, let's get going."

"Right." She replied, nodding.

We hurried off, heading for the mall. When we got there, we found the place to be fairly unpopulated, despite it being the middle of the day. We just wandered around for a while, just messing around in the mall, before Jessica had a suggestion.

"Why don't we go and see a movie?" She suggested.

"Really?" I asked. "A movie?"

"Yeah, why not." She replied. "Why, do you not like movies?"

"No, I have no issue." I said. "We can go and watch a movie if you want. Is there anything good in theaters right now?"

"I actually don't know, honestly." She said. "But, really, I don't care what we watch."

"Alright then." I replied. "Let's go."

We went to the mall's movie theater, passing a few people on the way. We got there, chose a random movie, got our snacks, and went into the movie. It was some shitty comedy, filled with horrid jokes and poor acting. About sixty minutes in, I felt a light weight on my shoulder. I looked over and saw that Jessica had fallen asleep, her head resting on my shoulder. I was about to wake her up, when I noticed something.  _She's so cute when she's asleep._ I mentally shook myself.  _No, I shouldn't be thinking that way. She's dating Levi._ A burst of rage ran through my head at that thought.  _Not like the ungrateful bastard deserves her. She's way too amazing and beautiful for that stupid fuck._ I unconsciously moved my arm, wrapping it around her.  _Granted, even if she was single, there's no way that she would date me. I mean, I'm just a mis-colored, mentally fucked up, Lucario with a horrid past._ I sighed, hanging my head.  _And, now I've depressed myself. Why have I always been so good at doing this?_ I just sat there, barely paying attention to the movie, just absent-mindedly running my hand through Jessica's fur. When the movie finally ended, I gently shook the sleeping Flareon.

"Hey, Jessica," I said, "c'mon, wake up."

She lifted her head up, blinking around sleepily.

"Huh?" She asked tiredly.

"The movies over." I told her. "Let's go and pick up Chris's board, and head home."

"Alright." She said, sitting up.

She yawned cutely, flashing her fangs. We stood up, taking our trash. We left the theater behind everyone, throwing away our trash as we went. We left the theater, heading for the instrument store. I picked up the keyboard, paid for it, and we left. By the time that we had left the mall, the sun was setting behind the trees. As we started back home, Jessica moved closer to me, before resting her head on me. I looked at her, raising an eyebrow curiously, and she just looked up at me, smiling.  _What is she doing?_

"What are you doing?" I vocalized.

"Leaning on you." She replied.

"Okay." I said. "Might I ask why?"

"I just feel like it, really." She answered. "Why, do you want me to stop?"

"I don't necessarily have an issue with it." I replied. "Although, it seems slightly odd to be doing this while you're dating Levi."

"Well, it's not like I'm cheating on him." She pointed out. "I'm just resting my head on your shoulder, Riku."

"Okay then." I replied, sighing lightly.

We continued on home, her head lying on my shoulder. We arrived home just before eight, and we went up to the door. I opened it, immediately noticing the fact that the room was completely dark.

"Hello?" I asked.

"You guys home?" Jessica asked, coming off of my shoulder.

Suddenly, the lights came on, and there was a loud shout of, "Surprise!"

Looking around, I saw that everyone was in the room, a small party hat on their heads.

I just stood there, confused, as Kyle yelled, "Happy birthday, Jessica!"

She froze, and said, "That's what I forgot. I turn sixteen today."

We all deadpanned, and I asked, "How do you forget something like that?

She shrugged, and said, "I don't know. It's been a pretty stressful month."

"Still, this day only happens once a year." I pointed out.

"It doesn't matter." Valerie said. "Let's just celebrate."

"Yeah." Maxwell agreed. "We've made you a cake, we got everyone party hats. Let's just have some fun."

"Agreed." Leo said.

* * *

We all sat back in our seats in the living room, sighing.

"That cake was amazing." Chris complimented.

"Thanks." Maxwell replied. "Kyle and I worked hard on it."

"Thanks for all of this, guys." Jessica said.

"Y'know, this celebration made me realize something." Adam started. "Riku, after all of the time that we've known you, you have yet to tell us when your birthday is."

"Yeah." Jessica agreed She nudged me from her spot next to me, and asked, "How come?"

"Oh." I said. "It just hasn't come up, really."

"Well, when is it?" Leo asked me.

I just looked down awkwardly, before mumbling out an answer.

"What?" Kyle asked.

"C'mon man, speak up." Chris urged.

I sighed, before saying, "I actually turned seventeen on October twenty-ninth."

"What?" Ashtynn replied.

"Riku, why didn't you tell us?" Ashley asked me.

"Yeah," Adam added, "I mean, we could have thrown a party for you."

I just shrugged, and said, "It just not that important."

"How can you say that?" Maxwell said, shocked. "You literally just pointed out that these things only come around once a year."

"It's just not that big of a deal." I replied. "And, besides, we've been busy. I mean, you guys were busy practicing for the Halloween party, and then we immediately began planning and practicing for the duel, and it just never came up."

Jessica pulled me into a hug and said, "Riku, you're part of our family. No matter what, we can always make time for you."

"C'mon, man," Kyle said, "do you think that any of our hobbies are more important to us than each other?"

I just shrugged in response, and said, "It doesn't really matter, guys. I mean, I've never really had any celebration or anything before, so it's always just been another day to me."

"All I'm hearing from this is that we need to throw you a giant fucking party." Chris said.

I sighed, and said, "No. I don't want you guys to have to do so much work and put in so much effort for something so minute."

"Riku, we're doing it." Ashley replied. "Sunday night we're throwing you the biggest fucking birthday party that this town's ever seen."

"No." I replied. "I don't want you guys to do anything extravagant for me."

"Then let us do it for us." Alex countered. I looked at him, confused, so he explained, "Well, we all feel bad about missing your birthday, so at least let us throw this party for you so that we don't feel like assholes."

I sighed and, seeing that my resistance was futile, said, "Fine. Go ahead. Just don't go too overboard."

"Alright, we won't." Adam agreed.

"Thank you." I said, standing up. "Now, I think that I'm going to go to bed."

* * *

P.O.V Change: Adam

As we heard Riku's footsteps ascend the stairs, Ashtynn turned to me and asked, "So, we're going extremely overboard and extravagant on this, right?"

"Oh, absolutely." I replied.

"Wanna hire a DJ?" Kyle asked.

"I could handle it, if we could get me a deck." I replied. "I have some minor experience with it."

"When the hell did you get experience with making music?" Leo asked me.

I chuckled, and said, "While sneaking away from a military camp isn't easy, it is extremely rewarding to get into the local nightclub."

"Want some strobes?" Jessica asked.

"Of course." I replied.

Maxwell seemed to think for a minute, before saying, "I should be able to get you guys a fog machine."

"I'm pretty sure that after we demolish Nemesis at the Duel, at least a fair amount of people would want to come." Chris said. "Hell, there were a lot of people in the crowd last time talking about wanting to hang out with you."

"What, have we become, like, local celebrities, or something?" I asked.

The Mightyena sighed, and said, "You guys really don't pay attention to other people much, do you?"

"Seeing as they've never been all that nice to us, no." Kyle replied.

"Well, yeah, you guys are local celebrities." Chris replied.

"Cool." Jessica commented.

"Guys, you're losing focus." I said, bringing everyone back together. "So, anything else?"

A large smile crossed Ashley's face, and she said, "Glow sticks. Lots and lots of glow sticks."

"So, a deck, a fog machine, strobes, and glow sticks." I counted off. "Is that all?" Everyone nodded, and a giant grin came across my face, and I said, "Excellent."

* * *

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Glow Sticks! Yeah, if you guys haven't caught on yet, all of my chapters are named after a sentence that I really liked in the chapter. And, that one is my favorite. Honestly, it may be my favorite sentence that I've ever typed. So, how're you guys enjoying the development between Riku and Jessica? Anyway, next chapter is some moar music! Which will be followed by raving, mad dubstep, and strobes. So, that's what the next two chapters are. Now, if you kind souls will follow me to the next update within these twenty four hours, Cloud and the gang are going to discover who it was, exactly, that temporarily snatched Skyler's beanie last chapter. So, onward to A New School Means a New Start, Right?! I still hate typing that name, due to it's grammatical horridness. But, horridness isn't even a word, so I don't quite care.


	14. I Play Guitar and Make Weird Screamy Sounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Concert chapter is a go! Yep, we be here with a new chapter, and some moar muzix. Want me to stop typing like an idiot now? Yeah, I'm gonna stop that now. Anyway, yeah, we've got this shiny little chapter to have some fun with, and the playlist link is, as always, in my profile. So, now, reviews.
> 
> dna6123: What do you mean no one ever means to get drunk? My cousin gets drunk a fair amount, and he's only a few months older than I am... Actually, forget that I said that. He's not a good role model. Yeah, don't use a sixteen year old, pot smoking, alcohol drinking kid as a role model. You'll just fail.
> 
> Real Life Latias: Yeah, menus always gets me, as well. I always feel as if it should be spelled menues. Yeah, I'm not sure why, but the human mind is weird. To me, if I were reading this and not writing it, I would have thought that Riku would become a sociopath because of the sexual abuse. Granted, I watch way to much Law and Order: SVU, so that may influence my mind in this case. But, if you would like to read a story from me that has that sort of relationship, one of my other ones, Living a Life of Odd Luxury, does include one. So, y'know, check it out, if you want.

**I Play Guitar and Make Weird Screamy Sounds**

I was standing in front of my mirror, tying the bandana around my neck. As I finished, my eyes tracked my body in the mirror. The spikes on my boots were cleaned to the point to where the metal tips shined slightly in the light. The chains on my pants hung down from the black cloth, sparkling slightly as well. I had decided to ditch my black jacket, my torso now covered in a plain black shirt. The whole outfit was topped off with my face and nails painted, and my bandana tied around my neck.  _I look like a softer version of The Misfits._  As I was tightening my bandana, there was a knock on my door. I went over and opened it, revealing Adam, dressed in a black button up shirt and a pair of black jeans.

"What's with the getup?" I asked. "I thought that we were going to just where what we wore on Halloween."

The Absol shrugged, saying, "Well, originally, we were. But, Jessica and Kyle decided that it'd be interesting for us to look sort of dressy, instead."

"Why was I not told about this?" I questioned.

"She said that the band look better if you were dressed like that." He replied. "And, before you ask, I don't know why she thought that, but we're rolling with it."

I sighed, and said, "So, are you leaving now?"

"Yep." He said.

"Well, I've still got some minor things to do, so I'll just meet you at the rec center." I replied.

He nodded, and asked, "Want me to take your guitar?"

"No, I'll take it." I replied. "It's one of the things that I need to work on, anyway."

"I guess that I'll leave you to it, then." He said. "Just remember, we go on in thirty minutes, so you need to hurry."

"Don't worry, I will." I reassured. "You guys just go ahead."

He nodded, and left the doorway. I closed the door after him, before going over to my desk. As the sound of the door closing downstairs reached my ears, I grabbed my spike bracelets from my desk and put them on. I heard Maxwell's car start up and pull out of the driveway, as went over to my bed and opened the guitar bag that was sitting on top of it, revealing Head Esploder, my guitar.  _I still can't believe that Ashley decided to name it that._ I picked Head Esploder up and flipped him over, revealing the name, painted in white. I chuckled as I quickly checked to make sure that everything was in good shape, before returning Head Esploder to his bags.  _Well, time to get going._ I zipped the bag up and threw it over my shoulder, heading towards the door. I left my room and went down the stairs. I left the house, stepping out into the light snow that had arrived just as the sun left. Just before I was about to leave, I noticed something black lying in the snow. I went over to it, bending down to examine it. I picked it up, recognizing it as one of Adam's spare guitar picks.  _I should give this back to him._ As I stood up, I heard footsteps rush up behind me. I went to turn around, just to have a cloth shoved in my face. I let out a gasp of shock at this, causing some sweet smelling scent to invade my nose and mouth. As soon as I was hit by this, I felt myself falling into unconsciousness, slumping into someone's arms.

* * *

P.O.V Change: Adam

I was pacing backstage impatiently, my hands folded behind my back.

"Adam, will you please calm down?" Ashtynn asked.

"Sorry, but we're kind of only five minutes away from the show starting, and Riku's not fucking here." I replied, seething. "I swear, if he's fucking ditching us, I'll-"

"Riku's not like that, Adam." Jessica stopped me.

"Yeah?" I replied. "Did any of us think that Lee and Michael were like that, either?"

She just looked at me, shocked, before looking down at the floor. I heard the curtains behind me open, and I whirled around, ready to scold Riku, only to see that it wasn't him.

"Maxwell?" I asked, as he, Chris, and Ashley came through the part in the curtains, a fair sized bag on Chris's back.

"What are you doing here?" Jessica asked, an obvious tone of hurt in her voice, as she rose from her seat. "I thought that you had a plane to catch."

"Well, I did," Maxwell replied, "but, I decided that I could catch a later one. After all, when else will I get to see Sudden Obsession prove that they can beat the competition?"

A smile spread across the Flareon's face, and she rushed over to the Eevee, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

"Thanks." She said.

"Anything for my little girl." He replied, hugging her back. When they broke free, he looked around, before asking, "Where's Riku?"

"That's the exact same thing that I'm wondering." I replied, spite dripping from my words. "The asshole was supposed to meet us here, right?"

"Stop calling him that." Jessica defended the Lucario. She turned back to Maxwell, saying, "We don't know. Kyle just went to call him."

Just then, the aforementioned Zoroark returned, pocketing his phone as he came over to us.

"Where is he?" Ashtynn asked.

"I don't know." Kyle replied. "He's not picking up. It just rang over and over, before going to voicemail."

I slammed my fist down on one of the empty crates next to me, and said, "See. He's fucking ditching us."

"Adam, calm down, for Arceus's sake." Ashtynn commanded. "We all know that Riku isn't like that. He cares about this way too much to leave us hanging."

"I could go and try and find him." Ashley suggested. "I can move faster than any of you, and I can sniff him out easily."

Before anyone could answer, a guy poked his head in from the stage, and said, "Guys, we need you out here. It starts in one minute."

I nodded, and he left.

I sighed, and said, "Alright, do that. But be sure to let him know that I'm kicking his ass when he gets here."

The Ninetails nodded, before dashing through the curtains.

"What will we do?" Kyle asked. "I mean, we have to play."

I sighed again, thinking.

"Okay." I finally said. "Jess, you know all of the rhythm parts, right?" She nodded, and I continued, "Okay. So, I'll take over the singing and lead, Jess, you can take the rhythm, since I brought an extra guitar, and Ash, you can cover the bass, as none of our songs actually require a double."

Everyone nodded, and Jessica asked, "What about Riku's song?"

"We just have to hope that he's here by then." I replied.

The man from before stuck his head in again, saying, "Thirty seconds."

I nodded, and he retracted.

"We'll be out in the crowd." Chris said, before he and Maxwell left us.

I sighed, and asked, "Alright, everyone ready?"

The girls grabbed their instruments, and all three of them nodded.

I picked up my own guitar, and said, "Let's go."

Kyle lifted up the curtain and we all stepped out to a blast of applause and screams. As we went over to the far right side of the giant stage, where a microphone and Kyle's drums were, I glanced over at Nemesis, across the stage from us. Archer and Michael were both holding a guitar, glaring at us. Trinity and Andrew had a bass each. Finishing the group off, Lee was at their microphone, while the blue haired guy, whom we had learned was name Ron, was at the drums. When we got to our position, there was only about fifteen feet between our bands. As soon as we got to our portion of the stage, a Liepard dressed in rather baggy clothes, with a pair of headphones around his neck, came out of the curtains, a wireless microphone in his hand.

"Alright people." He announced into the microphone. "Hello, and welcome to the duel between Sudden Obsession," he gestured towards us, "and Nemesis." He gestured to our opponents, as he said, "So, my name is DJ Diamond, and I'll be your host and announcer for this night of music." There was a round of applause, before he continued, "So, if this is your first time seeing a duel here, which it may be for a lot of you, as we haven't had one for about ten years now, allow me to lay down the rules of the competition. Each band will play four songs, challengers going first, alternating bands. You can cheer in between song if you want, but if you want to help your band win, be sure to save some of your pretty little voice for the very end, because we'll then decide who wins off of who gets the loudest applause. Now, should there be a tie, we already have a playbook of songs to do a true battle in to decide who wins. Now, let's introduce the bands." He went over to Nemesis, raised his arm, and called out, "Allow me to introduce the challenger, Nemesis." There was a round of applause, as he stated, "Their line-up consists of Lee on the vocal, Michael and Archer on the guitars, Trinity and Andrew on the bass, and Kai on the drums."

Another round of applause stormed out, as Diamond made his way over to us.

When he reached us, he introduced us, "And, the defenders, Sudden Obsession. They consist of Riku on the vocals and guitar, joined by Adam on the guitar, as well. Followed by Jessica and Ashtynn on the bass, and Kyle on the drums." As a small round of applause sounded out, Diamond noticed that Riku was missing, so he asked, "Um, where is Riku?"

I cleared my throat, before saying, "He's running a little late. So, until he gets here, I'll be taking his spot, while Jessica takes mine."

Diamond shrugged, and said, "Well, it appears that we have a minor temporary line-up change, just until Riku can get here. So, until he arrives, Adam will be taking the lead vocals and lead guitar, while Jessica takes over the rhythm guitar."

At his words, the room exploded in applause.

When the crowd finally died down, Diamond yelled, "So, now we go over to Nemesis for their first song. Guys?"

I saw Lee nod, before stepping back, letting Trinity take the microphone.  _What the hell are they doing?_ As she stood at the microphone, the band started playing  _Nemesis_ by Arch Enemy.

_We walk this Earth_

_With fire in our hands_

_Eye for an eye_

_We are Nemesis_

_We are with you_

_Countless vicious souls_

_Fight! - Fighting for freedom_

_United we stand_

_We are legion_

_Voice of anarchy_

_This is revolution_

_Creating new disorder_

_We are enemy_

_Opponent of the system_

_Crushing hypocrisy_

_Slaying the philistine_

_One for all - All for one_

_We are strong - We are one_

_Nemesis_

_A malicious fever burns_

_In our hearts, In our veins_

_Your blood, My blood_

_All blood runs the same_

As Nemesis finished up, Trinity stood there panting, applause sounding from the crowd. The four of us just stood there, watching her.

She seemed to notice this, as she went to the microphone again, and asked, "What, did you never think that something like that could come from something as cute as me?"

I grabbed our own microphone and chuckled, before saying, "No, it's not that. It's just that we never thought that Archer would have anything to do with making you scream."

The crowd exploded in applause at my insult, and I saw that my insult delivered the proper effect, as the Lopunny just stood there, shocked.

"Ooh, we're getting feisty in here tonight." Diamond commented. "Been a while since we had any good insults chucked at each other during these. If Obsession's music is as good as there jokes, then Nemesis should start getting worried." The crowd exploded in whistles and applause, as the Liepard said, "Now, time for Sudden Obsession's first song."

Jessica and Ashtynn stepped back some, as we got prepared to play.

* * *

P.O.V Change: Riku

I opened my eyes, to see that the world appeared to be flipped. I looked around frantically, noticing that I was dangling a few feet from the ground, upside down, with vines wrapped around my entire body, leaving only my head uncovered. I tried to get out, but it proved fruitless, and I stopped as I heard footsteps approach.

"There's no use in struggling." A voice behind me said. "Those vines are strong enough to keep even a Rhydon in place."

I spun around with some difficulty, to see a Blastoise-morph and a Venusaur-morph, my guitar bag sitting in the snow next to the pair.

"Where the hell am I even at?" I asked, enraged. "Or, more importantly, why the hell am I here?"

"You are in the woods by your house." The Venusaur explained. "And you are here because Archer has asked that we keep you distracted long enough for them to beat your shitty band in the duel."

"What?" I asked. "I'm being held here because he's fucking worried?"

"He's not worried, scum." The Blastoise said, as I felt the vines tighten around me. "He's just making sure that you can't win."

I sighed, and said, "How about you let me down and I won't kill you."

The Venusaur laughed, before saying, "No can do, freakboy. We've been told to do this, so this we shall do."

"You don't have to do this." I insisted.

"No, but that doesn't mean that we don't enjoy it." The Blastoise said, laughing.

I groaned in pain as I felt the vines tighten even more.  _Someone please come help me._

* * *

P.O.V Change: Adam

I stepped back from the microphone, allowing Ashtynn to take her place at it. I nodded to her, telling her to lead us, and she nodded back. I got ready to begin playing, bet the Blaziken just stood there, frozen.

Worried, I went over to Ashtynn, and asked, "Ash, what's up?"

She gulped, before replying in a whisper, "Adam, I don't think that I can do this."

"C'mon," I urged her, "it's just like how we practiced at home."

"That was in front of six people, max." She pointed out. "There has to be at least two hundred out there now."

I gripped her shoulders, before bringing her into a hug, reassuring her, "Trust me. You can do it. I believe in you."

We broke apart and she looked at me, before nodding, a determined look on her face. She began playing  _Daughters of Darkness_ by Halestorm.

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_We came to battle baby_

_We came to win the war_

_We won't surrender_

_Till we get what we're lookin for_

_We're blowing out our speakers_

_There goes the neighbourhood_

_A little scissor happy_

_Little misunderstood_

_We can turn you on_

_Or we will turn on you_

_Daughters of darkness_

_Sisters insane_

_A little evil_

_Goes a long, long way_

_We stand together_

_No we're not afraid_

_We'll live forever_

_Daughters of darkness_

_Daughters of darkness_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_Daughters of darkness_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_We're all survivors somehow_

_We just broke out the pack_

_And I don't need no dogtag_

_My name is on my back_

_We can turn you on_

_Or we can turn on you_

_Daughters of darkness_

_Sisters insane_

_A little evil_

_Goes a long, long way_

_We stand together_

_No we're not afraid_

_We'll live forever_

_Daughters of darkness_

_Daughters of darkness_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_Daughters of darkness_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_Never down_

_Never out_

_Playing hard_

_Living loud_

_Keeping up_

_With the boys_

_Making out_

_Making noise_

_And you better get me home_

_Before the sun comes up...up...up_

_Daughters of darkness_

_Sisters insane_

_A little evil goes a long, long way_

_We stand together_

_No we're not afraid_

_We'll live forever_

_Daughters of darkness_

_Daughters of darkness_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_Daughters of darkness_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_We're the daughters of darkness_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_Na-na-na-na-na_

_Daughters of Darkness_

As we finished the song and the crowd began cheering, Ashtynn stepped back to me, a smile on her face.

"How was it?" She asked me.

"You were amazing." I told her.

She nodded to me, as we returned to our previous positions.

"Well, well, well." Diamond commented, mock grimacing. "If a daughter of darkness is that ferocious, then I would hate to meet the mother. Now, let's head over to Nemesis to listen to their comeback."

There was a small round of applause, as Lee returned to the microphone, and the band readied their instruments.

* * *

P.O.V Change: Ashley

I sprinted through the snow, turning into our driveway. As soon as I hit our property, I put my nose to the ground, trying to pick up some scent. After multiple minutes of searching, I finally picked up Riku's scent. I followed it, and it led me to his phone, half buried in the snow. I dug it up, immediately beginning to sniff it. I picked up Riku's scent, but also some other scent. Upon closer inspection, I identified it as some form of spore.  _Sleep Spore, maybe? But what could someone need Sleep Spore for?_ Suddenly, a thought struck me.  _Shit! He's been kidnapped!_  I grabbed Riku's phone and held it in one of my tails, as I began scouring for another trace of either of the scents. I eventually found the two combined, leading into the forest. I took off running into the trees without a second thought.  _I'm coming, Riku._

* * *

 

P.O.V Change: Adam

We watched, as Nemesis began to play  _Warrior_ by Disturbed

_I am now an instrument of violence_   
_I am a vessel of invincibility_   
_I cannot leave this undecided_   
_Stepping down to battle another day_   
_Remember me for all time this_   
_Determination is a vital part of me_   
_Surrender now or be counted_   
_With the endless masses that I will defeat_

_Come on bring it, don't sing it_   
_Better believe it_   
_Broken down, till your hope has died_   
_Beat down till the victory is mine_   
_Stand up and show me some pride_   
_And now, are you ready?_

_I'm one with the warrior inside_   
_My dominance can't be denied_   
_Your entire world will turn_   
_Into a battlefield tonight_   
_As I look upon you through_   
_The warrior's eyes now_   
_I can see the fear that will_   
_Ensure my victory this time_

_I can't be told to compromise this_   
_They'll never doubt the body lying at my feet_   
_A most formidable reminder_   
_They will speak my name for eternity_   
_I have no need of any guidance_   
_I am a weapon powerful beyond belief_   
_Seen through the warrior's eyes_   
_I never need to question how to defeat you_

_Come on bring it, don't sing it_   
_Better believe it_   
_Broken down, till your hope has died_   
_Beat down till the victory is mine_   
_Stand up and show me some pride_   
_And now, are you ready?_

_I'm one with the warrior inside_   
_My dominance can't be denied_   
_Your entire world will turn_   
_Into a battlefield tonight_   
_As I look upon you through_   
_The warrior's eyes now_   
_I can see the fear that will_   
_Ensure my victory this time_

_You can't hide now_   
_I am the warrior_   
_So decide now_   
_How they'll remember you_   
_Do not hide now_   
_Act like a warrior_   
_Show your pride now_   
_Solidify your place in time_

_I'm one with the warrior inside_   
_My dominance can't be denied_   
_Your entire world will turn_   
_Into a battlefield tonight_   
_As I look upon you through_   
_The warrior's eyes now_   
_I can see the fear that will_   
_Ensure my victory this time_

_I'm one with the warrior inside_   
_The evidence can't be denied_   
_The entire world will stare_   
_Into this battlefield tonight_   
_As I stand before you_   
_With a warrior's heart now_   
_I can feel the strength that will_   
_Ensure my victory this time_

As the crowd applauded, Diamond began with his banter again, "It appears that this warrior is starting a fight against any bad bands out there. So, if I were you, I'd watch out. Now, back to Sudden Obsession, where they have their own battalion of soldiers prepared to launch an assault."

I returned to the microphone, guitar at the ready.

* * *

P.O.V Change: Riku

I sighed as I just dangled there, watching my two kidnappers sit at the base of a tree, fucking around on their phones.

"Y'know, if I'm going to be here for a while, we could at least get to know each other." I said. They ignored me, so I continued, "I'm Riku. I'm an abnormally colored, sixteen year old Lucario, and I play guitar and make weird screamy sounds in a band called Sudden Obsession." I was still ignored, so I said, "Now it's your turn."

The Venusaur continued ignoring me, but the Blastoise glanced up at me, glaring, before returning his attention to his phone.

"Oh, you guys are just being party poopers." I taunted. "I'm just trying to make the best out of a bad situation, and you two are being all antisocial and shit." I sighed, and said, "Y'know, you could at least tell me your names."

The Venusaur growled in anger, before saying, "Fine, you can know our names, if it'll shut you the fuck up. I'm Victor and he's Ben. Happy?"

"Unbelievably so." I replied, smiling widely.

Victor just sighed in annoyance, shaking his head, before returning to his phone.  _Speaking of which, where is my phone?_

* * *

P.O.V Change: Adam

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes.  _Alright Adam, you can do this. You've done the same thing before, just less complicated._ I opened my eyes to see hundreds of pairs of eyes trained on me. I took another deep breath, before beginning to play  _Spider_ by Overworld.

_Have you ever looked up into the sky and wondered why it's black_

_Ever asked yourself why you give and never get anything back_

_Ever had a scar that never healed as time went by_

_Ever felt like everything you've been told has been a lie_

_Why won't you escape now_

_Why won't you escape now_

_Fall into pleasure as time passes by_

_I'll think of you wrapped up inside_

_Have you ever dived in the deepest sea to find out what it meant_

_Ever asked yourself if she was heavensent_

_Ever looked for meaning in a place you've never known_

_Ever met somebody who deserved to die alone_

_Catharsis_

_I don't know how_

_I don't know why_

_But ignorance is bliss_

_If we turn blind_

_This infection of the mind remains_

_A spider in my head_

_All I see is black and white_

_All I see is black and white_

_Why resist, why resist_

_(Blackout)_

_Why resist, why resist_

_(Blackout)_

_Why do we stay blind_

_Stay blind_

_All the insects feed on my mind as madness closes in_

_No escape from this world I built, sealed shut within_

_All the insects feed on my mind as madness closes in_

_No escape from this world I built, left to regret_

_Catharsis_

_And I know you're afraid_

_I don't know how_

_I don't know why_

_But ignorance is bliss_

_If we turn blind_

_This infection of the mind remains_

_A spider_

_Don't be afraid_

_I'll take you away_

_If I can't have you, then nobody will_

_Because_

_You're the spider in my head_

As I finished, I let out a giant sigh, reveling in the loud cheers of the crowd.  _Is this how it feels to be the main focus of a song? It feels amazing. Rather overwhelming, really. But, I do prefer to take the back, so there is that._

"Judging by the amount of applause, I'd say that Obsession just creepy crawlied right into first place." Diamond joked. "Now, let's see if our guys over in Nemesis brought the bug spray."

They all readied up as the crowd clapped quietly.

* * *

P.O.V Change: Ashley

I continued dashing through the trees, ignoring the intense cold that was biting at my legs.  _I've got to find Riku, and fast. Who knows what all they've done to him._  I was so distracted with running, that I didn't notice the small Vulpix in front of me until I barreled into her, bringing us both to the ground.

As I stood up, the little Vulpix exclaimed, "Aunt Ashley!"

I went over to her, and nosed her to her feet, saying, "Sorry, Smoke. I didn't see you there. I'm just in a slight hurry."

"Smoke, what did we tell you about running off, especially at night?" I heard a female voice ask, as it approached.

The bushes next to me parted, to reveal another Ninetails.

She noticed me, and she said, "Ashley?"

"Hello, Flame." I greeted my sister, slightly nervously.

Just then, a large Luxray came bursting in, frantically saying, "Where is she? Is she hurt?" He noticed the three of us before him, and he calmed down, and said, "Oh." He came over to us, and asked, "Ashley? Why didn't you tell me that you were coming out here? I would have sent a patrol to escort you."

"Well, it was actually sort of a spur of the moment thing, Eli." I replied. "Y'see, I'd love to stick around and chat, but I'm actually in a hurry here."

"Oh?" Flame asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's Riku." I answered.

"The odd Lucario that recently moved in?" Eli questioned. "What of him?"

"He's been kidnapped." I explained, causing them to gasp in shock. "He was supposed to meet us for the battle of the bands, but he didn't show up. So, I went looking for him, and it appears that he's been knocked out and captured. Have you seen any sign of him?"

"Sorry, I can't say that I have."Eli replied.

"Wait, I think I saw him!" Flame exclaimed.

"Really?" I asked, joy overtaking my fear. "Where?"

"He was being carried by a Blastoise and a Venusaur." My sister replied. "I can take you to where they were going, and I could help you get him back."

"Thank you so much, sister." I thanked.

She nodded, and said, "Eli, you take Smoke home, I'll be back soon."

The Luxray nodded, before going over to the little Vulpix and began ushering it away.

"Lead the way." I urged Flame.

She nodded, and we took off through the woods.

* * *

P.O.V Change: Adam

_Arceus, I hope that Ashley can find Riku. We have to have him before the finally._ I watched as Nemesis began playing  _Someone to Hate_ by Demon Hunter.

_A figure for the closing of time, the antagonist divine_

_Void of vacant word, one final answer to be heard_

_I will carry my decree into a storm of lead_

_This is total war, my want for tolerance is dead_

_To my last breath_

_I am someone to hate_

_I will spit upon the idol for which you stand_

_I will carry the weight_

_I will bury your deception with a wrathful hand_

_Heart is cold, and my weapons are washed in blood_

_I avow to the call on high_

_My resolve in the blessed above, in this ever-consuming divide_

_A figure for the closing of time, the antithesis defined_

_Threat to faith untrue, I am the enemy of new_

_All you advocates of Hell, you corruptors of free will_

_The culling is nigh, better get your fill_

_I am the cry for the falling of time_

_Born into the lust within our eyes_

_Taught to write the scriptures for our lives_

_We inherit the lies_

_To my last breath, to my final day_

As Nemesis finished, the crowd began clapping.

"Well, it does seem like someone hates them." Diamond said. "Or else we would probably not be here, and all of you little kiddies would be sitting at home, bored as hell. So, how about we give a little thanks to the wonderful emotion that is hatred, while we give Sudden Obsession the stage for their next song?"

_Hurry the fuck up, guys. We're cutting it close._

* * *

P.O.V Change: Riku

"Fifty-five bottles of beer on the wall, fifty-five bottles of beer." I was singing. "Take one down, pass it around, fifty-four bottles of beer on the wall. Fifty-four bottles of beer on the wall, fifty-four bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around, fifty-three bottles of beer on the wall."

I could see that Victor was physically shaking, before he yelled, "Would you shut the fuck up already?"

"Will you let me go?" I asked.

"Fuck no." The Venusaur replied.

I took a deep breath, before continuing, "Fifty-three bottles of beer on the wall, fifty-three bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around, fifty-two bottles of beer on the wall."

Both of my captives let out a groan of annoyance, but I only got louder.

* * *

P.O.V Change: Adam

I stepped back, allowing Jessica to stand in front of the microphone. She took a deep breath, before starting  _Frankenstein_ by Stitched Up Heart.

_There's a Skeleton Key_

_That lies on the stairs_

_I should have been_

_A little prepared_

_Picked up the key_

_Opened the door_

_Don't have a clue_

_What I am in for_

_There's a boy on the counter_

_Cut up on pieces_

_Still making sounds_

_He's barely breathing_

_I'm not a doctor_

_I can't make him better_

_All I can do is try to_

_Put him together_

_He's made of stapled and broken bones_

_Bruises from chapters_

_Stories untold_

_If I had a wish_

_It'd be make him whole_

_He's barely alive_

_I'm gonna call him mine_

_I'm gonna call him my Frankenstein_

_Cut up and bleeding from inside_

_I'm gonna call him to mine_

_The skeleton key_

_Is still in market_

_A small part of me_

_Wants to close the door and lock it_

_Wherever we go_

_They scream at the monster_

_Wherever we go_

_The gunshots are fired_

_He's made of staples and broken bones_

_Bruises from chapters_

_Stories untold_

_If I had a wish_

_It'd be make him whole_

_He's barely alive_

_So is his soul_

_Bring him to the ground_

_Bring him down_

_I'm gonna call him mine_

_I'm gonna him my Frankenstein_

_Cut up and bleeding from inside_

_I'm gonna call him mine_

_We will charge and fall_

_Bring him_

_He' s made of staples and broken bones_

_Bruises from chapters_

_Stories untold_

_If I had a wish_

_It'd be make him whole_

_He's barely alive_

_So is his soul_

_He's made of staples and broken bones_

_Bruises from chapters_

_Stories untold_

_If I had a wish_

_It'd be make him whole_

_He's barely alive_

_So is his soul_

_I'm gonna call him mine_

_I'm gonna call him my Frankenstein_

_Cut up and bleeding from inside_

_And I'm gonna call him mine_

_I'm gonna call him mine_

_I'm gonna call him my Frankenstein_

_Cut up and bleeding from inside_

_And I'm gonna call him mine_

_You're mine_

_You're mine_

_You're mine_

_You're mine_

As Jessica stepped back, a smile on her face, I watched Lee return to his microphone.

"Well," Diamond began, "it appears that this little lady is as talented as she is beautiful. Watch out boys, she's a killer." The audience laughed some, as the Liepard continued, "So, how about we get ready for Nemesis's final song?"

* * *

P.O.V Change: Ashley

Flame and I kept dashing through the trees, my sister in the lead.

"You're sure that you know where we're going?" I asked, slightly worried.

"Of course." She replied, panting lightly. "What, don't you trust me?"

"Flame, of course I trust you." I said.

I was about to continue, when I heard something. Singing. I came to a skidding stop, my ears perking up. Not only was it singing, but it was clearly Riku's singing. And it was coming from just to our right.

"What's up?" Flame asked me, stopping as well.

"That singing is Riku." I replied. "And it's just over there."

I took off running towards the voice, charging a ball of flames in my mouth. As we got closer, I could identify what he was singing.  _Ninety-nine bottles of beer? Really?_ We reached a large patch of bushes and Flame and I leapt over it, flames ready in our mouths and on our tails.

* * *

P.O.V Change: Riku

The bushes rustled behind me for a few seconds, catching my attention and making me stop singing, just for a pair of Ninetails to leap out, bodies coated in fire. I immediately recognized Ashley, but the other one I did not know.

As Victor and Ben shot up, I yelled, "Ashley, here!"

She noticed me, while the other Ninetails bared her flame at my kidnappers. Ashley aimed her mouth at me, before sending a ball of fire at the vines. They quickly burned away, and I dropped to the ground on my back. I picked myself up, to see that Ashley and the other Ninetails were stalking towards Victor and Ben, small bits of a flame/magma mixture dripping from their parted jaws, burning through the snow.

"Leave. Now!" Ashley demanded.

"Like hell we will." Ben countered, aiming his cannons at the Ninetails.

He launched off twin water blasts at the fire foxes, but I blocked the attack by forming a large aura wall in front of them. As the water cleared, the wall followed. I slowly stalked towards the group, coming up behind the Ninetails.

"Now, I believe we can have some fun." I said, grinning.

Victor whimpered slightly, suggesting, "Um, we could have a little conversation now, if you want."

"Sorry, I'm not feeling too talkative anymore." I replied, charging an Aura Sphere in each hand.

I sent my attacks flying at Ben, just as Ashley and the other Ninetails sent their fire flying at Victor. All of the attacks hit simultaneously, causing a large smoke cloud that blocked our view. When we could see again, I saw that both of the morphs were unconscious on the ground.

"Nice." I complemented.

"Riku, we have to hurry." Ashley urged me. "You're missing the duel."

I nodded, and the other Ninetails said, "You two go ahead. I can get back to the clan on my own."

"Alright." Ashley said, as I bent down and she leapt up onto my shoulders.

"You need to come visit soon." The other Ninetails told Ashley. "We haven't seen you for months."

"Don't worry, Flame." Ashley replied. "I will."

"Who knows, maybe you could introduce your family to the clan." Flame, the other Ninetails, said. "But, first, you two need to get going."

Ashley nodded, and said, "Thank you, again."

Flame returned the nod, and I grabbed my guitar bag and threw it on, before taking off through the woods.

"So, who was that?" I asked Ashley.

"My sister, Flame." She replied.

"You have a sister?" I questioned. "How do we not know that?"

"Well, Maxwell and Eric know." She replied. "Oh, I almost forgot. I found your phone."

She brought one of her tails around, my phone wrapped in it. I took it and put it in my pocket.

"Thanks." I said. "So, how far are they in the duel?"

"I don't know." She replied. "I left before it started to find you."

I nodded, and put on an extra burst of speed.

* * *

P.O.V Change: Adam

As soon as the words left Diamond's mouth, Nemesis began playing  _Smells Like A Freak Show_ by Avatar.

_Smells like a freak show_

_Right where I want to be_

_Come taste the dirt,_

_The dirt, the dirt_

_I..._

_I smell a freak show_

_Theres something wrong with me_

_Want it to hurt_

_It hurts, it hurts_

_I..._

_I need something to sedate me_

_But I can't afford the high_

_Give me something_

_To help me escape_

_Smells like a freak show_

_God in a casket_

_Gone for eternities_

_We've got no rules,_

_No rules, no rules_

_I..._

_God in a casket_

_Lost all authority_

_Come watch the fools_

_The fools, the fools_

_I..._

When they finished, Lee left the microphone, to be replaced by Archer.

"Oh, we almost forgot." The Houndoom said, glaring at us. "That song is dedicated to everyone's favorite local freaks over in Sudden Obsession."

"Oh? We're dedicating songs now?" A familiar voice said from across the room, somehow rising over the crowd.

* * *

P.O.V Change: Riku

As I began walking on aura stairs to get above the crowd, I continued, "Because I've got one hell of a dedication for you."

As everyone's eyes turned to me, I made an aura walkway over the crowd, and started across it, Ashley leaping off of my shoulders and into the crowd. I glanced over at Archer, to see a look of shock on his face. I looked over at my band, and saw looks of surprise and joy. Except for Adam. Anger was mixed into his. When I reached the stage, the audience exploded in applause. I went over to stand next to Adam.

"Dude, where the fuck have you been?" He hissed out.

"I'll explain later." I replied. "So, I haven't missed my song or the announcement yet, have I?"

"No, we were waiting for you." Jessica answered me, coming over to us.

I nodded, and grabbed the microphone from its stand.

"Alright." I said into it. "So, how's everyone been doing tonight?" The room exploded in cheers, and I laughed, saying, "Good to hear. I trust that Adam hasn't made too many ears bleed, right?" As the audience cheered again, Adam elbowed me, and I whispered to him, "I'm just kidding. Calm down." Turning back to the microphone, I said, "Y'know, this sort of feels like a one sided conversation. I mean, all you do is cheer. But, don't stop now, because we have someone that we feel needs a loud introduction from you guys. Now, allow me to go out and find him."

I gave the microphone to Adam, and formed the aura bridge again. I went out on it, heading for Chris, Maxwell, and Ashley.

I bent down at them, and asked, "I thought that you had a plane to catch?"

The Eevee shrugged, and said, "Well, you were right. This is much more important than my job."

I nodded, and reached down to Chris. He took my hand, and I pulled him up, careful not to hit his bag.

He seemed slightly wary about stepping onto the walkway, so I reassured him, "Relax. It's solid, I promise."

He stepped fully onto the bridge, and we started back to the stage, the room silent. When we reached the stage, I got rid of the bridge and grabbed the microphone.

"Okay, so, some of you may know this guy," I started, "although he does only work at a clothing store." The Mightyena elbowed me, and I said, "But, it's a good clothing store, so we love him anyway. So, I would like to announce that Chris here has joined Sudden Obsession as our keyboardist."

The crowd exploded in cheers, and Chris took a small bow. I nodded to him, and he moved back to begin setting up his gear. As he did that, I brought my bag around to my front, unzipping it. I pulled Head Esploder from his bag, before throwing the cloth cover over by Kyle. I looked back at Chris, to see that he had his all black keyboard set up, and he was waiting for my go.

"Alright, so, allow me to dedicate this song." I spoke into the microphone. "This song goes out to anyone who has ever mocked us, or anyone else, for being different or for being who they truly are." I locked glares with Archer, and said, "And it especially goes out to our buddies in Nemesis, as well as their injured friends Victor and Ben."

As a shocked and angered look crossed Archer's face, a smile formed on mine. I gripped Head Esploder, before beginning to play  _Devil's Night_ by Motionless In White.

_I am an enemy of everything_

_My life is not for sale_

_My heart is in this fight forever_

_What can you take from me?_

_When there's not a single fucking day_

_I haven't fought to stay alive?_

_We're finding hope in the hopeless_

_I am still their voice that gets stuck in your head_

_I am me_

_And I have come to fucking scare you to death_

_Because that's what you deserve you disgusting piece of shit_

_I know the only words that you have for me_

_Are give up and get out_

_You'd like to think that we've been beaten_

_But we're here to stay_

_Forever and always_

_Every single day_

_Not giving up, living up all my dreams_

_So go ahead and look like I'm inferior_

_Condescension, Suffering, Callousness and Loathing_

_Are the badges I have earned for my cause_

_And I am finding hope within hatred_

_A reason to persist, to push past everything_

_We are here_

_And we have come to scare you to death_

_Because that's what you deserve_

_You fucking fake ass hypocrites_

_I know the only words that you have for me_

_Are give up and get out_

_You'd like to think that we've been beaten_

_But we're here to stay_

_Forever and always_

_So loud_

_We are the ones that you pushed away_

_For drowning your voice out_

_You'd like to think_

_We've been defeated, but we're here to stay_

_Forever and always_

_We've been through everything_

_And we all have our scars_

_We may be broken but you_

_CAN'T KILL ALL OF US_

_GO!_

_Think before you fucking speak_

_I am no villain, think before you fucking speak_

_People fear what they don't understand_

_And so now beauty has become the fucking beast_

_(Maybe you didn't hear me?)_

_I SAID GO FUCK YOURSELF!_

_I know the only words that you have for me_

_Are give up and get out_

_You'd like to think_

_That we've been beaten but we're here to stay_

_Forever and always_

_So Loud_

_We are the ones that you pushed away_

_For drowning your voice out_

_You'd like to think_

_We've been defeated, but we're here to stay_

_Forever and always_

As we finished and I slung my guitar to my back, the crowd erupted in tumultuous applause, even louder than the one that we got on Halloween. We all took a bow, and I added extra flair to mine by performing a quick back flip afterwards, resulting in even more applause. As the crowd began quieting down a Liepard, whom I presume to be the announcer, came to center stage.

"Holy shit." He said into his microphone. "I don't know what almost blew my eardrums out, how bad-fucking-ass these guys hit that song, or your applause for them." I chuckled, smiling, as he continued, "But, now I believe that we need to choose a winner. So, how about you let me hear it for Nemesis?"

The crowd exploded in applause, quieting down after a minute or so.

"Alright, that was pretty good." The Liepard commented. "Now, give it up for Sudden Obsession!"

The audience, once again, exploded. It was loud as hell, no doubt about it. But, even I had to say, it sounded damn near the same as the one for Nemesis.

"Oh, sounds to me like we got ourselves a tie." The Liepard said.

The response was immediate.

The crowd cheered, and Adam yelled, "What?" He went over to the Liepard and complained, "That's bullshit. We absolutely demolished them."

Before the purple cat could reply, I went over and said, "I'm alright with it." Adam looked at me, shocked, and I replied, "What? Archer's friends made me miss almost all of the duel, so I'm prepared to wreck these fuckers."

Adam just nodded, retreating to our side. The Liepard motioned for Archer to come over, so the Houndoom did.

"Alright," The Liepard said, "so, we have a tie here, so we need to break it." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small book, before opening it and saying, "So, here is the list of tie breaker songs."

We both looked at it, before simultaneously pointing at the same song and saying, "This one."

The Liepard whistled, before saying, "Nice choice, kids. Alright, go back and get ready."

We both nodded, and started back to our bands, but not before shooting threatening glares at each other.

"So, what song is it?" Adam asked, as I returned.

"Just follow my lead." I replied, stepping up to my microphone.

"Alright." The Liepard said over his microphone. "So, here's how this works. The winner is decided the same as last time, but they only play one song, alternating parts. So, at specific intervals of the song, I will signal over to a band, and they'll pick it up until I signal to the others. So, just like before, challengers lead." He nodded towards Nemesis, and said, "When you're ready."

Lee nodded back, before they started up  _Devil Went Down To GeorDevil Went Down To Georgia_ by Steve Ouimette.

_The devil went down to Georgia, he was looking for a soul to steal._

_He was in a bind 'cos he was way behind: he was willin' to make a deal._

_When he came across this young man sawin' on a fiddle and playin' it hot._

_And the devil jumped upon a hickory stump and said: "Boy let me tell you what:_

_"I bet you didn't know it, but I'm a fiddle player too._

_"And if you'd care to take a dare, I'll make a bet with you._

_"Now you play a pretty good fiddle, boy, but give the devil his due:_

_"I bet a fiddle of gold against your soul, 'cos I think I'm better than you."_

A nod to us, and we began playing as Nemesis stopped.

_The boy said: "My name's Johnny and it might be a sin,_

_"But I'll take your bet, your gonna regret, 'cos I'm the best that's ever been."_

_Johnny you rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard._

_'Cos hell's broke loose in Georgia and the devil deals it hard._

_And if you win you get this shiny fiddle made of gold._

_But if you lose, the devil gets your soul._

Nod to Nemesis.

_The devil opened up his case and he said: "I'll start this show."_

_And fire flew from his fingertips as he resined up his bow._

_And he pulled the bow across his strings and it made an evil hiss._

_Then a band of demons joined in and it sounded something like this._

Nod to us.

_When the devil finished, Johnny said: "Well you're pretty good ol' son._

_"But if you'll sit down in that chair, right there, and let me show you how its done."_

_Fire on the moun, run boys, run._

_The devil's in the house of the risin' sun._

_Chicken in the bread pin, pickin' out dough._

_"Granny, does your dog bite?"_

_"No, child, no."_

As we played, I watched the Liepard, expecting another nod, but he just stood there, smiling at us. I slowly began noticing something. Chanting. Bringing my attention to the crowd, I realized that it was them.

"Riku! Riku! Riku!" Some of them chanted, while most of them were shouting in unison, "Obsession! Obsession! Obsession!"

I looked back at the others and saw smiles on their faces, and Adam nodded over to me.

_The devil bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat._

_He laid that golden fiddle on the ground at Johnny's feet._

_Johnny said: "Devil just come on back if you ever want to try again._

_"I told you once, you son of a bitch, I'm the best that's ever been."_

_And he played fire on the mount, run boys, run._

_The devil's in the house of the risin' sun._

_Chicken in the bread pin pickin' out dough._

_"Granny, does your dog bite?"_

_"No, child, no."_

As the final notes from our instruments rang out in the room, the chanting only grew louder, until it was damn near deafening.

After multiple minutes, the applause and chanting quieted down enough for the Liepard to be heard over the microphone, and he exclaimed, "Holy shit! That was amazing. Now, even though there's no real reason to announce the winners, I'll do it anyway, if only to be able to yell the name one more time. Sudden Obsession!"

The audience exploded in applause again, and I watched in amusement as the others jumped up, cheering. As I watched this, I saw Adam and Ashtynn leap at each other, getting into a hug, and locking lips. We all started laughing, as they broke apart, realizing what they just did, and a large blush formed on both of them. My attention was quickly averted, though, to Archer. The Houndoom was currently stalking over to their microphone.

"That's bullshit." He complained, upon reaching the microphone. "Those fuckers didn't even have a full band for most of the duel."

"Yeah, and who's fault was that?" I asked over out microphone. "I'm pretty certain that none of us over here had two assholes kidnap me and tie me up."

The room got silent at this sentence, all eyes on us.

"I-I don't know what the hell you're talking about." Archer stuttered. "I didn't have anything to do with that."

"You and I both know that that's bullshit, Archer." I replied. "As do Ben and Victor. Granted, they're currently incapacitated, so they couldn't take a side, even if they would."

"What the hell did you do to those two?" He asked me. "They're the football team's best players."

"I taught them a lesson, with the help of Ashley and her sister." I replied. "Just face the fucking facts, Archer. You knew that you couldn't beat us legitimately, so you tried to cheat, and even then you fucking failed. Just leave before you embarrass yourself further."

With that, I stepped away from the microphone. I went over to stand with the others. Just as I arrived, they all starred behind me, wide eyed, as a loud gasp sounded from the crowd. I spun around, to see a large blast of fire aimed right at me. I didn't have enough time to move, so I just braced myself. My choice became moot, though, as I watched a bolt of electricity cut through the flames, demolishing them, revealing Leo on the other side, as well as a rather odd site. Maxwell was standing on the other side of the stage, one of his hands clasped on Archer's muzzle, keeping it closed, while his other hand held the Houndoom's hands up above his head.

"Now, then," the Eevee said calmly, "I believe that it would be in your best interest to leave here. Now."

Archer just stared at Maxwell, fear in his eyes, before nodding his head. Maxwell released Archer, before heading our way.

"Now, then," Maxwell said, as he reached us, "shall we go home?"

We all nodded, and we grabbed our equipment, before hopping off of the stage. The crowd parted as we went, allowing us to get to the door with ease. We stepped outside into the snow.

As we were walking across the parking lot, I heard a voice say, "Hey, guys."

We all spun around to see Levi standing there, and I immediately clenched my fists.

"Levi!" Jessica exclaimed, rushing over to him and hugging him. "I thought that you couldn't come."

"Well, I actually want to talk to you about something." He replied. "In private."

She looked confused, but didn't question it, instead turning to us and saying, "I'll be home soon."

We all nodded, before continuing to the car. I glanced down at Ashley, and I could tell that we were thinking the same thing.  _Nothing good will come out of that talk._

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, kids, that is a woman singing the first song. Her name is Angela (I'm pretty sure. I would check Wikipedia, but I just don't feel like it.) and she is fucking amazing. And, yes, I am jealous of her skill. Seriously, when I try to yell I sound like I'm choking, and my growls are rivaled by kittens everywhere. Funny thing about Arch Enemy, though. My cousin (Yes, the one mentioned previously.) actually told me about them a few months ago, and he had me look them up and tell him what I thought about the vocalist. But I ended up finding a music video, so I ended up just raining on his parade. Although, it is amazingly funny to check out the comment section of their songs on Youtube and see people being shocked about the vocalist being a woman. Really, though, if you truly listen, you can tell that it isn't a man. Anyway, time for me to thank some people.
> 
> First, allow me to thank my friend, who is also an amazing author, Tsuzihri07 for the Devil Went Down To Georgia suggestion. Before that, Lee and Riku were just going to go at it with Tech N9ne's Worldwide Choppers. Granted, that wouldn't have been a bad thing.
> 
> Anyway, go and check out Tsu's page, and, while you're there, check out our collaboration, Two Lives. We currently have two chapters out, and Tsu is writing his next one.
> 
> Second, I want to thank Diamondstor2 for a multitude of things. First off, for the obvious song suggestions. I had only heard of a few of them, and I love all of the other ones that you introduced me to, so, thanks. I would also like to say thanks for helping me out an unbelievable amount of times in the past with all of my stories, but specifically The New Champion. You have helped form that story into what it is now by giving me advice, so, thanks. Now, I'd love to be able to say that you should check out his stories but, despite how helpful he is with giving advice and helping with stories, he actually doesn't write his own. So, yeah, sorry about that.
> 
> Finally, I want to thank Wildlian for suggesting a song. While I didn't use the one you suggested, you are one of the only three people who actually did suggest a song, which is awesome.
> 
> So, go check out Wildlian's stories, as well.
> 
> Fun fact: Three of the nine songs used in this chapter are by Swedish bands. Those are Spider by Overworld, Nemesis by Arch Enemy, and Smells Like a Freakshow by Avatar. That is so much Swedishness that I probably should have put a Pewdiepie joke in. But I didn't. Yeah, not a fan of Pewdiepie. No offense to anyone that is a fan of his, but I'm not.
> 
> Another fun fact: While making this chapter, I realized just how long it had been since I listened to any Disturb or anything from that genre, so I made a Pandora station for it. Immediately regretted it. I mean, come the fuck on. I love Down With The Sickness just as much as the next Disturbed fan, but that song is too fucking overplayed, and when it came up first on the station it made me feel slightly ill. Yes, I am that tired of hearing that fucking song.
> 
> Anyway, now I'm rambling and I should most likely go. So, if you kids need me, I'll be listening to some Demon Hunter (Seriously fucking fell in love with them after hearing Someone To Hate.) and probably playing some Call of Duty. Or Hearthstone. Or Cards Against Humanity. Yeah, I don't know anymore. So, join me next chapter for a party. Bye. :)


	15. Chapter 15

**You Look Like You're About to Die**

I sat in the backyard, by the covered pool, watching the happy partygoers wander around, talking to each other. My vision blurred slightly, as I felt that same feeling of intense sickening sorrow, the same one that I had been feeling all night.  _Who here is so sad that it's actually effecting me? That rarely happens. And, for fuck's sake, this is a party. I thought that I was the only one that hated the concept of us throwing one?_ As another bolt of pain shot through me, I made my decision. I started for the door, weaving in between groups of people. I stepped inside, being greeted by some laser show, as well as a fogged up floor. As my ears began being assaulted by music, some remix that Adam was currently creating on the fly, but still having the core elements of  _Internet Friends_ by Knife Party, I started for his makeshift stage made of two tables, on the other side of the room.

As I started over there, a random Eevee stopped me, saying, "Hey. Riku, right?" I nodded, and he continued, "Shit, man. This is a nice fucking party you've got here."

"Thanks." I replied, trying not to be rude.

As I pushed past the annoying guest, he called after me, "Hey, happy birthday, man!"

I just rolled my eyes, scoffing, as I neared Adam's stage. Just as I reached it, I felt another sickening bolt shoot through me. The pain caused me to be light-headed, causing me to almost collapse. I caught myself on Adam's stage, but just barely. Ridding my head of the clouds, I tugged on the Absol's pant leg lightly. He looked down at me from his deck, sliding off his headphones.

He bent down, and said, "Hey, man." He seemed to notice my illness, as he asked, "Holy shit, what's up with you? You look like you're about to die."

"Yeah, I feel like it, as well." I told him. "Listen, I'm going to turn in early, alright?"

"Yeah, you do that." He replied, nodding. "Just text me if you need anything. I'm sure that Ashley knows where all of the meds are, just in case."

"Thanks, but I think that for now I'll just rest." I reassured him. "G'night."

"Yeah, night." He replied, as I started for the doorway.

I managed to make it to the stairs without collapsing, so I started up to the second floor, using the railing to keep myself up.  _What is with this? Who the hell is this sad tonight?_ Upon reaching the top of the stairs, I started for my room. A little down the hall, I felt the strongest burst of sadness yet shoot through me, causing me to collapse against the wall. It took me a few seconds, but I managed to confirm to myself that I would stay conscious, so I started to get up. Just as I was rising, I heard a sound that caused me to stop short. Sobbing. Not like any small crying sound, but a truly emotionally hurt sobbing. I pressed my ear to the wall, and I heard it even louder over the music. I looked up at where I was, feeling slightly horrified upon the discovery.  _Jessica's room._ I swallowed deeply, already running through what most likely happened in my head.  _I've got to help. I owe it to her. After all, I kept the truth from her for so long._ I reached up, before knocking on the door.

"Go away!" Was the response. I knocked again, receiving a, "Fuck off! I'm not in the mood!"

With me being the kind of person that I am, I ignored her, slowly opening the door. As soon as I began entering, my vision was filled by high speed pillow.

"I said go away!" Jessica yelled at me.

As the pillow hit the floor, I looked and saw that she had her face to her bed, and I could hear her sobs.

"Are you sure that that's what you want me to do?" I asked her. "Because right now you really look like you need a friend."

She turned over, looking at me. Her fur had tear streaks running through it, trailing down her cheeks from her damp eyes.

"R-Riku?" She asked. "What are you doing in here?"

"I'm a Lucario, Jess." I told her. "I can sense emotions. And you're currently a ball of them. So, may I come in?"

She seemed to ponder my question for a second, before nodding, replying, "Sure."

I closed the door behind me, cutting off the sound of the party downstairs. As I started for Jessica's bed, she began wiping her eyes, trying to clear away her tears. I sat down on her bed, and she immediately dropped her head onto my shoulder.

"So," I began, hugging the saddened Flareon lightly, "what's up?"

"It's Levi." She replied, sighing deeply.

"What about him?" I asked her, beginning to run my hand through the fur on her head, stroking up each of her ears as I reached them.

"Just- Riku, will you answer a question?" She inquired. "Truthfully?"

"Of course." I replied, nodding.

"Riku, do you think that I'm ugly?" She asked me, surprising me.

"What?" I replied, shocked. "What would make you think that?"

She burst into tears again, and cried out, "I knew it. I do suck."

"Jessica, calm down." I told her. "I didn't say that. Now, what's wrong? Why would you think that there's anything wrong with you?"

"Because," She replied, "there must be something wrong with me, with how all of my past relationships ended."

"What do you mean?" I asked her, hugging her tighter.

"I mean that all of the guys became absolute assholes." She replied. "My first boyfriend was stealing from me the whole time, just using me as his own bank. The second one was doing it on a dare to impress his friends. The third was just using me to get closer to the one he really wanted, Kyle. And then Levi-"

She cut off at this, and I just realized that my anger had been rising as she spoke.

"Levi what?" I asked her, already knowing the answer.

"Levi was cheating on me the whole time." She replied, burying her head in my shoulder as she continued crying. "He has, like, three other girls on the side."

"What?" I asked, faking shock. "He told you all of this?"

"No." She answered, her voice slightly muffled by my shirt. "He didn't tell me anything when he broke up with me after the duel. I found out about the reason afterwards from other people."

As Jessica kept her head buried in my shirt, I fought to control my anger.  _Calm down, Riku. You'll get back at him later. Right now, you need to comfort Jessica._

"Jessica, look at me." I implored the Flareon. She didn't move, so I repeated, "Jessica, I want you to look at me."

She raised her head slightly this time, looking up at me. I moved my free hand, the one that wasn't hugging her, under her chin, moving her head up to look me in the eye.

"I want you to listen to me, Jessica." I told her. "You are amazing. You have the beauty of a goddess, you've got an amazing personality, and you're the most kind and caring person that I've ever met. Anyone in the world would be lucky to have you. Guys wish that you were theirs, and girls wish that they were you. Okay? You are amazing, and nothing will ever change that."

She smiled at me slightly, before replying, "I want to believe those amazingly kind words, Riku. I really do. But how can I, when my past blatantly proves otherwise? I mean, all of the guys that I've ever dated have fucked me over."

"Well, maybe you aren't dating the right guys." I told her.

"Well, what would you consider the right guy?" She asked me.

I thought for a second, before replying, "Well, it's sort of simple, really. The right guy would be someone that treats you right. Someone that is always chivalrous to you. A guy that can make you happy whenever you're sad, and someone that would sacrifice their well being for you, and someone that you would do the same for. Can you think of anyone like that?"

After a few seconds, a wide smile spread across her face, and she said, "Yeah, I think so. But, he doesn't seem to want to initiate a relationship. So, how would I go about doing that?"

I once again thought for a second, before telling her, "Well, I don't really have any experience in the matter, but I guess that I could be of some help. Do something that will leave no doubt in his mind that you want to be together. Something so stupid, yet so romantic, that he'll immediately wonder where you've been all of his life, and he won't be able to resist dating you. Got it?"

She nodded, before saying, "So, something like this?"

With that, she leaned into me, pushing me down onto her bed. She landed on me, before pressing her lips to mine. She began kissing me deeply, leaning into it. After recovering from my shock, I instinctively returned the kiss, pulling her body even closer to mine. We stayed like this for a minute or so, before breaking apart, panting.

"So," She asked me, between pants, "would that work?"

"Y-Yeah." I replied. "That would more than work."

"So, is that a yes?" She asked.

"What?" I replied, surprised. "Me?"

She giggled, before saying, "Of course you, silly. I mean, you fit all of the criteria that you said. I mean, you've always treated me kindly. Hell, you could have died while you kept me alive. And, y'know, you aren't exactly that rough on the eyes. So?"

After recovering from my shock, I ran through the situation in my head.  _What do I say? I mean, I'd love to date her, she's fucking amazing. But, well, is it right? But, we both want each other._

Making my mind up, I replied, "Yes. I would love to date you, Jessica."

"Yay!" The Flareon cheered, giving me a quick peck on the cheek. She leaned to my ear, whispering, "And, y'know, you're also the best kisser that I've come across."

I chuckled, and replied, "Well, if it means anything, you're the best I've ever had, as well."

She chuckled back, before being cut off by a yawn.

I chuckled again, and suggested, "How about we go to sleep?"

"Sure." She replied, giggling. "Wanna stay in here tonight?"

I wrapped my arms around my new girlfriend's waist, and answered, "Sure."

With that, we moved to where our heads were on the pillows, and Jessica threw the blanket over us.

I wrapped my arm around her, as she said, "Good night, Riku."

"Good night, Jessica." I replied, hugging her tightly.

* * *

P.O.V Change: Ashley

I smiled widely as I pulled Jessica's door closed.  _So, they finally worked everything out. I can't wait to see how they progress._ I chuckled lightly.  _I also can't wait for Kyle's reaction. He honestly may flip shit._


	16. They're Assholes

** They're Assholes **

“There’s nothing to fucking do here.” I sighed out, staring at the ceiling of the living room, my back on the floor.

“Was there ever anything to do?” Chris asked, sitting up slightly from his chair.

“Not really.” Kyle replied, his arm dropping off of the couch and tapping me on the leg. “I mean, sometimes, but we get into these ruts where we have absolutely nothing to do.”

I scoffed, saying, “Speak for yourself, man.”

Kyle leaned over to look at me, asking, “What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on, man.” I retorted, rolling my eyes. “Jess and Riku have been out of the house constantly for the past few weeks, man.”

“Yep.” The Mightyena in the chair agreed. He chuckled quietly, adding, “Maybe they’re spending some time together.”

I heard a low growl, followed by a Dark Pulse forming in Kyle’s hand, as he told Chris, “You better not be insinuating what I fucking think you are, mutt.”

My eyes shot to Chris, as the Mightyena threw his hands up, quickly stuttering out, “N-No! Of course not! J-Just saying that they’re friends, and could be hanging out together. Th-That’s all.”

The Zoroark glared over at our friend, before slowly removing the Pulse, growling out, “Good. Because I’ll skin him alive if he fucking touches her.”

We stayed in a rather tense silence, before I cautiously spoke, “Speaking of her relationship status, we still have unfinished business.”

“Yep.” Chris agreed, nodding. “Still need to deal with that asshole.”

“She said that you don’t need to get involved.” A voice spoke up, drawing our attention. “So I advise leaving it to her.”

“You really think that I’ll let him get away with dumping her, Ash?” Kyle asked the Ninetails, as she and Ashtynn entered the room.

“Why do you need to fuck with him, though?” Ashtynn retorted, dropping down to sit next to my head. “Hell, she didn’t seem all that torn up about it. Seemed happier than before, in all honesty.”

“And you hate Levi, anyway.” Ashley pointed out. “So isn’t it sorta a good thing that they aren’t together anymore?”

“Doesn’t mean that I’m letting that asshole off free.” Kyle growled out.

The Ninetails and Blaziken sighed, but I reassured them, “Don’t worry. If he tries to kill him, I’ll stop it. I’ll be fucking slaughtered if he does anything to him.”

“Thanks, Adam, but I doubt that you’ll be able to stop him.” Ashtynn told me, leaning down to give my cheek a quick kiss. “The sentiment is nice, though.”

“Can you please just stay out of Jessica’s love life, Kyle?” Ashley asked him. “I know that you like protecting her, but she’s able to keep herself safe.”

“Whatever.” The Zoroark retorted, growling quietly. “Not even taking that into account, Levi is still a fucking douche. He’s an asshole to all of us.”

“And I’ll let you kick his ass for that.” The Ninetails told him. “Just use that to justify it, because he deserves it for that.”

As that conversation ended, Ashtynn asked us, “So, what exactly are you guys doing?”

“Nothing.” I replied. “Just like yesterday. And the day before that.”

“And the day before that.” Chris added.

“And the day before that.” Kyle finished.

“So you’re bored.” The Blaziken concluded. She appeared to think for a second, before suggesting, “We could go walk around town.”

“Are you kidding?” Kyle asked. “It’s fucking snowing.”

My girlfriend sighed quietly, before leaning over me, her breasts resting on my forehead, as she asked me, “Can we go, Adam? We’ve barely gone out at all.”

I chuckled quietly, replying, “Sure.” The Blaziken backed up, allowing me to get up, as I said, “Guess it has been a while since we’ve done something.”

“Thanks.” She replied, smiling, before leaning over to kiss me.

I returned the action, and we we separated, Chris asked, “So, doesn’t that feel odd, or anything?”

“What?” I asked him, raising my eyebrow.

“Kissing her.” The Mightyena said. “I mean, don’t you technically have a beak, Ashtynn?”

“Not necessarily.” She replied. “It actually isn’t as hard to the touch as you think.”

“Yeah, kissing her feels perfectly fine.” I told him. “And if you ever ask for proof,” I tapped the horn on my head, “then this’ll go through your fucking neck. Got it?”

“I know, man.” He said, nodding. “Hadn’t thought about it. You two go have fun on your date, or whatever you’re calling it.”

I rolled my eyes, taking Ashtynn’s hand in mine, before leading her out of the room.

“Take your jackets!” Ashley called after us. “It’s cold out.”

I chuckled quietly, as we grabbed our jackets off of the chair by the door, throwing them on.

“And be back before dark!” The Ninetails added.

“Okay, mom!” We both replied simultaneously, as I led the Blaziken out of the house, and into the falling snow. We started walking down the driveway, staying close in the cold, before I asked, “So, where are we going, exactly?”

She merely shrugged, replying, “Not sure.” She kissed my cheek, adding, “Just wanted to get out of the house, and be with you.”

I smiled back at her, saying, “Yeah, it’s been too long since we’ve been alone. It’s fun hanging out with the others, but being with you is never bad.”

“The feeling is mutual.” She told me, kissing my cheek. “So, anywhere that you want to go? Or just walk around?”

“Wandering the streets seems nice.” I replied, as we turned off of the driveway.

* * *

“Of all the things to do, you go out in the snow.” J said, giving Ashtynn and I our coffee.

I merely shrugged, shooting a quick amused glance across the table to Ashtynn, before telling the Feraligatr, “Well, it seemed fun at the time.”

“Still don’t fully regret it, really.” The Blaziken across from me added.

J rolled his eyes, chuckling out, “Yeah, well you’re lucky that I’m not one for reprimanding. Otherwise,” He ruffled my black fur and Ashtynn’s red feathers, “you two would be getting one hell of an earful.”

“Shame, too.” The Croconaw behind the counter commented. “Perfect conditions, seeing as the shop is empty.”

“You act like you haven’t deserved to get bitched out, Reno.” I shot back. “Remember when you broke, like, two coffee pots in one day?”

J’s nephew simply deadpanned, shooting a glare at me, before going back to cleaning the counter. With that, the Feraligatr chuckled, before leaving us.

As we drank our coffee, Ashtynn tentatively asked me, “So, Adam… Don’t you ever miss going back home? I mean, you never really talk to your family anymore, and I’ve been thinking… Doesn’t that ever hurt?”

I froze momentarily at the random serious question, before slowly replying, “I mean, not really. They don’t pay much attention to me, anyway.”

“It still must suck not going there, though.” She pressed. “I mean, they’re still your family.”

I sighed, replying, “Listen, Ash, because I would prefer to only say this once. I really don’t give a fuck. Only person there that I don’t hate is my dad, and he’s even drifted away from me recently. I just don’t fucking care. Got it?”

She nodded slowly, her eyes on the floor. After that, we were plunged back into a rather awkward silence, our only sounds coming from us drinking. We finished our coffee rather quickly, before heading back into the cold. As we started back down the sidewalk, I noticed a figure walking a ways in front of us, clad in black jeans and a blue hoodie.

I chuckled, nodding forward to him, commenting, “Well, at least we aren’t the only people crazy enough to go out for a walk in this weather.”

“I suppose so.” Ashtynn agreed, nodding. “We should start home, though. It’s getting late.”

“True.” I said. “Let’s get going.”

As soon as the words had left my mouth, I heard rapidly approaching footsteps behind me, followed by something colliding with me. I tripped from the force, barely catching myself before completely losing my footing.

“What the hell, asshole?” Ashtynn shouted after the fleeing person, as I stood back up.

As I watched the form run, I noticed something in its hand.

“Hey, fucker!” I called out, angered. “That’s my fucking wallet in your hand!”

I started to give chase, with Ashtynn right behind me. As the thief reached the person in the blue hoodie, I was shocked to see the hoodie spin around, fist raised, launching it into the thief’s face. I stopped short, shocked at what happened. I watched the form hit the snow covered ground, before starting to cautiously walk forward.

As I grew closer, I heard the guy in the hoodie say, “Are you fucking serious, Andy? Really?”

My ears perked up at the name, and I sped up my approach. When I arrived at the two, I glanced down to confirm the thief’s identity as the asshole shark, before looking at the person in the hoodie, whose identity shocked me.

“Ron?” I asked, confused.

The blue haired teen let out an annoyed sigh, replying, “Please don’t call me that. I told those fucking assholes that I hate that.”

“Assholes?” I inquired. “Y-You mean your band mates?”

He scoffed, saying, “Hardly. I left the night that you beat us.”

“Why?” Ashtynn asked, as she joined us.

“They’re fucking assholes.” He told us. “When you beat us, the others wanted to fuck with you; get revenge. And this was one of their plans. But, I wasn’t about that shit. They had been standable before that, but they just got worse afterwards. So I bailed.” He stuck his hand out to us, adding, “By the way, we never got a proper introduction. Cyron, but you can just call me Cyr.” He sent a sharp kick into the fallen shark, saying, “Not fucking Ron.”

We both shook his hand, as I asked, “So, you hate them now?”

“Yep.” Cyr replied. “You guys seem pretty chill, though. Don’t see any reason why they’d hate you.”

“They’re assholes.” Ashtynn said, as I bent down and grabbed my wallet.


	17. No One Can Know

“How did this happen, exactly?” I asked Kyle, my a Dark Pulse formed on both of my hands.

“Seriously, man?” The Zoroark replied. “You’re asking this now? You were fucking here!”

As one of the multiple Mightyena surrounding us growled, I shot back, “Yeah, for the fucking fight to break out! Not for the events leading to it!”

“Oh, will you fuckers shut the hell up?” The Houndoom-Morph shouted at us from outside of the ring.

“No one asked you, asshole!” I yelled back, provoking one of the wolves around us to bark sharply.

“Shut the hell up, mutt!” The Zoroark to my back commanded the canine.

“I advise you to not talk to our friends that way, Kyle.” The Garchomp-Morph told me.

“Shut the hell up, Andrew!” I yelled at him. Lowing my voice again, as the Mightyena around us got closer, I asked, “So, mind explaining how this happened before all hell breaks loose?”

Kyle sighed quietly, replying, “I guess.”

* * *

P.O.V Change: Kyle

I heard a sigh from my doorway, prompting me to lean up from my bed.

“Must you always stay inside?” The Eevee in the door asked me.

I merely shrugged, replying, “Nothing better to do.”

“You could join the others.” Maxwell pointed out.

“Adam is normally out with Ashtynn if he’s not here, and Riku and Jessica tend to leave extremely early, for whatever reason.” I told him, flopping back on my bed. “Alex and Leo are on a date, Chris is hanging out with Cyr, and Val is ill.”

“So what’s stopping you from joining Chris and Cyr?” He asked me.

“They’re seeing a movie, or something like that.” I said. “It’d be awkward for me to just interrupt it.”

The Eevee just sighed at me, replying, “Whatever. You could at least go out and wander around.”

“It’s snowing.” I informed him.

“Obviously.” he said. “But you like the cold.” I didn’t move, causing him to growl quietly, before telling me, “Kyle, either get out and do something, or I will ground you.”

My head shot up, as I asked, “What? But it’s the middle of December! Isn’t that something to say to your kids in the summer?”

“Maybe so.” He replied. “But I feel that you’ve been around the house too much. Too much time alone isn’t good for the mind.”

I rolled my eyes, sarcastically inquiring, “What are you, my psychiatrist?”

“No, I’m you’re father.” He told me, stepping out of the doorway. Just before he fully left, he quietly added, “Besides, it isn’t like a therapist would be anything new to this house.”

I froze at his words, listening to the Eevee’s receding footsteps. I let out a small sigh, resting my head on my pillow. Whatever. He’s not wrong, but still… He said that he wouldn’t bring that up again. Or his he talking about... I shook my head sharply, attempting to clear my mind. Whatever. Maybe he’s right. Maybe some time outside may distract me, despite the cold. I got up off of my bed, shaking my hair out some. I put my shoes on and grabbed my jacket, before exiting my room. I slipped the jacket on as I descended the stairs, trying to keep my mind occupied with anything, really.

“I’m going out!” I called out, as I reached the door.

Without waiting for any answer, I left the house, flipping my hood up as I stepped into the snow. Having no other real plans, I turned to my right, heading into the woods near the house. It’s getting close to Christmas now. Only a few weeks away. Also means that we’re getting closer to another day, as well. I shuddered at the thought, as I stepped into the trees. Maybe that’s why he wanted me out of the house. Just… I just hope that he can hold it together. Riku hasn’t been able to spend enough time with him to fully understand how he is, and I really don’t want this time of the year to effect his opinion. I don’t know. He may be able to understand. He’s spent some time with Max, so there is that. This year will most likely be much worse, though. Ten years now. I let out a quiet sigh, my eyes on the ground.

“I need to stop worrying so much. I’m sure that everything will be fine.” I told myself. “Everything will work out. I’m sure of it.”

“Not for you, friend.” I heard a deep voice growl behind me, causing me to freeze.

I slowly turned around, my eyes falling onto a Mightyena behind me, it’s glaring eyes locked onto me, the Pokemon ready to pounce on me.

“Listen, man, I don’t want any trouble.” I told the wolf, trying to reason with him. “I didn’t mean to wander into your territory. I was just walking.”

He growled back at me, replying, “Think I actually give a fuck about territory? No, this is about something far different.”

Seeing the determination in his eyes, I slowly packed up, asking, “What do you want, then?”

A crude smirk crossed the wolf’s lips, as he told me, “You.”

With a flick of the Dark type’s tail, four more Mightyena stepped out of the somehow still green bushes in front of me, their teeth bared.

“Oh, fucking hell.” I sighed out, tensing up.

Without waiting another second, I whipped around, taking off through the leafless trees. I heard a howl from the wolves behind me, as their feet followed me closely. I rushed through the woods, trying to either lose or wear out the pursuing Pokemon, occasionally firing a poorly aimed Shadow Ball, hitting nothing but the ground. As I ran, I saw a snow covered clearing up ahead. More room could make it easier for me to fight. I used Agility, giving myself the extra burst of speed to hit the clearing in a matter of seconds. As I came to a sliding stop, I felt my blood chill as five more Mightyena leapt out in front of me, leaving me trapped.

“Fuck.” I gasped out, panting lightly.

* * *

P.O.V Change: Adam

“And that’s when these assholes showed up.” The Zoroark finished, motioning towards the three Morphs nearby. “And about the time that you did, as well.”

I let out an annoyed sigh, replying, “Awesome. Fucking awesome.”

“Hell, man, I didn’t yell for help.” Kyle retorted.

“You sorta did.” Trinity taunted him. “Your screams of fear are essentially the same thing.”

I glared at the Lopunny, as Archer rolled his eyes, saying, “Just go ahead with it. I’m tired of hearing them talk.”

“With pleasure.” The lead Mightyena replied, a crooked grin crossing his canine lips.

With that, he settled back on his haunches, before springing off of the ground, aimed at us. I moved to intercept him, but before I could, a transparent wall appeared before me, causing the wolf to collide with it, dropping to the ground with a whimper.

“Ill advised, fucker.” I heard a voice a say, before a hooded figure dropped down onto the top of the wall.

* * *

P.O.V Change: Riku

“Now, I advise all of you go the fuck away, before things get worse.” I cautioned, as the downed Mightyena picked itself up. “I don’t want to have to hurt anyone.”

A smirk crossed over Archer’s previously shocked face, as he replied, “Oh, on the contrary, you’ve made my job much easier.”

“And how is that?” I inquired, stalling. “Do you intend to kill us, with the help of your friends? That doesn’t seem like you, puppy.”

A snarl formed on the Houndoom’s lips, before he said, “Oh, you don’t even know me, Riku. You just fucking think that you have me figured out, all because we dueled. Well you don’t even fucking know a thing about me, asshole!” I heard a tune being whistled close by, sounding like a bird, as he continued, “But I know exactly who you fucking are, Riku. You’re just some lonely orphan who impressed people with his shitty little magic tricks. You act like you’re all badass, but you can’t fucking fight. All you’d do is hide behind your friends. You’d pick a fight, and leave others to deal with it. I’ve met your fucking kind before.”

I growled quietly, answering, “You’re so fucking wrong, mutt. You don’t know a single thing about me, or my past. You’re just some little fucking bitch who buys his friends, and bullies people into submission. You’re nothing but fucking trash. Worthless, insignificant, atrociously ignorant, fucking trash. You belong in the fucking pound.”

This appeared to strike a chord in the Fire/Dark type, his eyes glaring at me, the right one twitching. Without another word, he dashed forward, building up a Flame Charge.

A smirk crossed my face, as I growled out, “Now!”

As soon as I shouted, I leapt off of the Aura Wall, dissolving it, and leaping over a green blur that had leapt out, ready to attack the Mightyena. I hit the ground running, a Focus Punch already prepared, and       started towards Archer. Our attacks collided in the center, causing a small flash of light, followed by a large explosion. The force sent both of us flying back, skidding and bouncing across the ground. I came to a stop at the base of a tree, my head aching from both the explosion and the effort of using my Aura earlier. I groaned in pain as I stood up, the dust clearing from the air. As it did, I noticed that where we made contact now held a large hole, and every eye in the clearing was on either myself or Archer, who was slowly rising to his feet across the clearing.  My eyes traveled across everyone around us, noticing that two of the Mightyena were already knocked out.

Andrew and Trinity started to run over to Archer, but the Houndoom stopped them in their tracks with, “No! You two handle the others. I’ll take care of the Aura freak over here.”

The two Morphs looked at the Houndoom hesitantly, before nodding.

“Riku, you going to be okay taking him on?” A voice asked me.

I glanced over at the Gallade that was the green blur, before nodding, and answering, “I’ve got him. Just help Kyle and Adam.”

He nodded back, as Archer and I returned our glares to each other. Without another word, we took off at each other, ready to get back into the fight. I opened by sending a fist at the Houndoom’s face, but he quickly dodged out of the way, launching a counterattack into my stomach. The blow connected with me, knocking the air from my lungs. He quickly followed it up with another punch, aimed for my head. I shot my hands up, deflecting the attack, before sending my knee into the hellhound’s gut, causing him to double over. Taking the opportunity presented, I launched my foot up, my boot connecting with his face, sending him flying back. He hit the snow on his back, blood already pouring from his nose, before scrambling to his feet.

“That all you’ve got, fucker?” He growled through the stream of blood. “Because it’ll take a lot more than just a busted nose to bring me down.”

I merely glared at him, replying, “Trust me, Archer, you don’t want this fight to continue. I advise you to leave now, before I do something you regret.”

A smirk crossed his crimson coated face, as he spat out a wad of blood, saying, “Trust me, if anyone will regret this, it’s you.”

I growled quietly, as the Houndoom reached into his pocket, pulling out a switchblade. He quickly rushed towards me, the blade aimed at my chest. My eyes grew wide as I dodged the attack, the blade instead slicing through my jacket sleeve and cutting my right arm. I winced in pain at the cut, but moved my left arm around in the same motion, sending a fist to the back of the dog’s head. He flew to the ground, flipping over, the knife flying from his hand. I snatched the knife, dashing over to Archer, who sat at the base of a tree in a daze. Without fully thinking, yet not having any second thoughts, I slid down in front of the Houndoom, stabbing the knife into his left arm, pinning it to the tree. He let out a pained gasp as his arm was pierced, the blade leaving him pinned to the tree trunk, crimson already flowing from his arm.

“Archer!” I heard Trinity shout out, but I ignored her.

I leaned in to his ear, growling lowly, “Listen, you fucking mutt. You don’t fucking know a fucking thing about me, and you don’t have a single fucking idea about who I fucking am. Got it?” I forced him to look from his arm to me, seeing the terror and fear in his eyes, as I repeated, “Got it?” He nodded quickly and shakily, prompting me to say, “Good. Now, you’re going to sit right fucking here for five minutes, got it? You’ll give myself and my friends five minutes to get home, then you can leave. But you will never fucking come back or try to fuck with us. Got it? No more revenge plots, no more fucking with any of us, and you’re going to stop fucking bullying everyone. Got it?” The Houndoom again nodded in fear, and I stood up, telling him, “Good boy. Now, we’re leaving. Five minutes.”

Without waiting for anyone to speak, I left the clearing, heading for the house. As I walked through the woods, I heard my companions catch up, walking slightly behind me, no one speaking.

As we saw the house through the trees, I heard a voice behind me say, “Riku, wait up.” I stopped, allowing the three Morphs behind me to catch up, followed by the Gallade sighing as I turned to him, before he said, “Listen, Riku, I don’t know what that was back there, and I honestly don’t think that I want to, but we need to agree to keep what happened back there a secret. No one can know about it.”

I nodded, scanning my unharmed friends, as Kyle asked, “What do we say happened?”

I thought for a second, before replying, “We just say that when we got there, you two had stumbled into Mightyena territory. So, we all took them out, and I got hit in the fight.”

“But what if they tell what happened?” Adam inquired. “Then you could get in serious fucking trouble.”

“Trust me, they’ll stay quiet.” I told him. “Archer is too scared of me now.”

The Absol hesitantly nodded, and I led my group out of the woods and into the yard. As we approached the house, I saw Jessica, Maxwell, Ashtynn, and Ashley pacing on the porch. As we grew closer, they noticed us, before rushing toward us.

Before Maxwell reached us, he froze, his eyes wide, as he gasped out, “Eric.”

A smile spread across the weary Gallade’s face, but his voice was happy nonetheless as he said to his father, “Yeah. It’s me.”

I watched as the two stood in silence, while the Ashes ran up to Adam and Kyle, before Maxwell and his son wordlessly embraced. I could only see this for a few moments, however, as Jessica quickly wrapped her arms around me.

“Riku!” The Flareon exclaimed, holding me close. “You’re hurt.”

“Y-Yeah.” I grunted out, a shot of dull pain going through my arm. I then quietly whispered, “But shouldn’t we save the hugging for inside? Not that I hate it, but we don’t need Kyle catching us now.”

My girlfriend broke apart from me, nodding sharply, before saying, “Riku has been hurt, so we’re going to go inside and patch him up.”

Without waiting for a response, Jessica took me by the hand, pulling me back to the house. She rushed me through the door and up into her room, where she had me sit down on the toilet.

“Oh, Riku.” She gasped out, the worry evident in her voice, as she slowly removed my torn jacket. “What the hell happened to you?”

I sighed, debating on whether or not to tell the truth, before simply replying, “They were surrounded by some Mightyena, so we helped.”

The Flareon quickly pulled out her first aid kit, which she popped open. She acted quickly, cleaning my wound, causing me to wince in pain. She removed my shirt, revealing that I actually had a few small cuts through my shirt, as well. She then bandaged and wrapped my chest and arm, causing me to wince again.

With that done, she sat down on my lap, resting her head against my shoulder, as she sighed out, “You could have gotten hurt even more, Riku.”

“I know.” I told her, kissing her cheek. “I’m sorry. But I had to protect them. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She said, returning the sign of affection.

There was suddenly a knock on the door, causing both of us to freeze, before Eric’s voice sounded out, “It’s just me, guys. And I’m alone.”

Jessica nodded, before getting up. She twisted the doorknob, allowing Eric to step into the room.

He looked at us, simply saying, “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell them about you two.”

“Thanks, Eric.” I replied, nodding.

He nodded back, telling us, “Maxwell went to grab some food for us. You guys hungry?”

Jessica shook her head, and I joined her, as the Flareon told him, “I think that we’ll just go ahead and relax or something.”

He nodded to her, saying, “Alright. If you two end up passing out, I can cover for you guys.”

“Thank you.” I told him.

With that, he left the bathroom, and subsequently the room. As his footsteps receded down the stairs, Jessica and I wordlessly went to her bed and collapsed onto it, with me pulling her close to my bare chest. Before either of us knew what was happening, we were both asleep.


End file.
